


When I Need You - When You Need Me

by EnchantedApril



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, F/F, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-08
Updated: 2016-09-20
Packaged: 2018-08-07 09:11:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 32,612
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7709296
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EnchantedApril/pseuds/EnchantedApril
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Kara is seriously injured in battle, Cat is forced to reveal their relationship in order to be near her.  The fallout is pretty much what they expected...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I'm on tumblr now as EnchntedApril if anyone cares. :). I will probably post short one-shots there and not here.

When I Need You

 

Chapter 1

Everyone in National City had seen the fight. It was rather difficult to miss since it had occurred virtually right above everyone's heads.

It had started in the hospital district, with the usual property damage and panic before Supergirl had swept onto the scene. That was when the CatCo helicopter had arrived and begun filming, and that was when Cat had felt her heart leap up to lodge firmly in her chest. She had seen numerous fights between Supergirl and various Fort Rozz escapees of the week but this just felt different from the start. The alien was bigger and stronger and clearly smarter than most who usually appeared to have the IQs of meteors. He had started the fight in one of the most vulnerable areas of the city, with five hospitals within a three block radius, one of them a children's hospital. There had been no question that Supergirl would come to stop him and of course she had.

Then she had expended valuable energy getting him to move from the hospital district and into the warehouse district and then out of the city entirely. The CatCo helicopter had shadowed them and Cat had watched Supergirl taking multiple blows from the other alien while she scanned the distance for the black ops vehicles that always seemed to appear out of nowhere. This time they were late.

They didn't arrive until the alien finally got a smug look on his face, said something in another language and pressed a button on his suit. A horrified expression had taken hold of Supergirl and she had sped towards the alien, wrapped herself around him and shot skyward. Less than thirty seconds later came the explosion. Even from above the clouds, the shock waves rattled windows and set off car alarms. Cat had just gasped, hands clutching the back of her chair as she leaned against her desk and murmured under her breath, waiting to see Supergirl fly back into the frame. She appeared - falling - and Cat had turned from the screen before watching her crash into the ground.

When she turned back, all that was visible was a plume of dust and then, speeding through it, those ubiquitous black SUVs. People had jumped from them, gathered up the fallen hero and sped off as a black helicopter zoomed in, and a voice through a loudspeaker demanded that the CatCo helicopter land and await debriefing.

The work day was almost over, and being a Friday, people had already started to surreptitiously leave early, and Cat was glad, for once, that not everyone had her work ethic. It meant that she could pace her office without having every eye in the bullpen fastened on her. By the time the clock hands circled around to five, the CatCo helicopter had landed and Cat had grilled the pilot and reporter about what they had seen. Sadly, it wasn't much more than had been recorded for the news, and when it came to any specifics about Supergirl after she crashed, they both mentioned the papers they had been required to sign, and their own intense desires to avoid prison. Cat sent her new and not horrible assistant home, and walked out onto her balcony to wait.

Kara always called. Always. Even if she was already on her way back to the penthouse, the beach house or the office, she still called to let Cat know that she was alive and healthy. Cat's hand clenched around her phone and mentally begged it to ring.

It had been four months after Myriad before she and Kara had finally sat down and had an honest discussion about what was happening between them. It had happened right on that balcony, as a matter of fact, and Cat had polished off three glasses of bourbon while Kara had settled on nervously twisting her hands together since alcohol did nothing for her. The entire Supergirl charade had ended that night, not that either of them had really been trying very hard to maintain it since the events of Myriad. It would have been difficult for Kara to explain why "Agent Scully's" mother was so familiar with Supergirl, and why Scully's herself had looked and acted so disconsolate after her battle with the super hero. It was just so obvious that they were family, even if multiple people hadn't slipped and called Eliza "Dr. Danvers" in her presence.

They had just never been quite ready to confront the deceit and what it all meant. Until that night. Cat had nearly been killed by a freak car accident, and the look on Supergirl's face as she'd pulled the car back from the edge of the Bay Bridge had belied any attempt at neutrality. It had been all Kara.

Kara had been just so very tired of pretending that Cat was nothing more than a boss - now work associate since she didn't directly report to her anymore - and Cat had been equally exhausted at trying to act as if she didn't miss Kara's daily presence in her life, and they had both just let it all spill out on that balcony under the moon and the stars as just a few whispy clouds hovered above like witnesses to something vastly important.

They had started seeing each other romantically the very next day. They never called it dating, because they didn't go on dates. They stayed late at the office and ordered take-out and talked about everything except work. Or they hung out at the penthouse when Carter wasn't there and played Boggle and Scrabble and Word-Up with fierce competitiveness. Or they fell into Kara's bed and talked deep into the night before curling around one another and sharing every part of themselves. Eventually, despite Kara's nervousness, they told Carter that they were something more than friends, and then the beach house became a refuge for them, swimming, chasing the waves, flying a kite with Carter holding the string and Kara providing the breeze when the ocean winds died down.

Cat had told Kara that she was fine with the younger woman telling her sister and close friends about them, especially after Carter knew, but Kara always shied away from the suggestion. She said she was happy the way things were and that telling more people would only complicate things and that as much as she loved Alex, she didn't have to share everything with her. Not yet. Not until they were sure.

Sure about what, Cat couldn't say, because she thought they had already loosely committed to some kind of future together, and she had tried not to feel insecure and petty. She knew that she hadn't exactly been the kindest of bosses to Kara, and no doubt Alex Danvers had heard all about that. Kara was probably afraid that her sister would vehemently object to their relationship, and she knew she would probably do the same in her place.

But that was why the call after every fight, every disaster, every near-miss, was so important. Because no one else would know to contact her. She needed Kara to tell her she was okay.

She waited at CatCo long past when she expected Kara to return. She had called Carter's nanny and told her she needed to work late. Then she had spoken to Carter and assured him that everything was fine. She hadn't wanted to go home and then have to lie to her son while she ached to just stare off into the sky looking for some sign of red and blue. When she was certain that Carter would be sleeping, she finally called her driver.

Saturday morning dawned and painted the sky with marvelous hues that Cat knew Kara would love to paint. She had barely slept, and the phone on the nightstand seemed to mock her with its silence. She felt sick with worry, and a weight had settled in the center of her chest keeping her from drawing a full breath. As much as she told herself that Supergirl was indestructible, she knew that it wasn't true, and so she tried to quell her fears with the thought that surely if the worst had happened then the DEO (yes, Kara had told her the name of her government agency) would have released some sort of statement.

That was what she continued to tell herself all weekend long. To Carter, she explained that sometimes Kara had lengthy debriefing sessions after missions. It wasn't exactly a lie. The look in Carter's eye told her that he was only humoring her by going along with her story, but he stopped asking questions, which meant that Cat wouldn't have to struggle to keep her voice steady when she said Kara's name.

It was a quiet weekend, with Carter retreating to his room to work on a science project and Cat retreating to her study where she could nurse glasses of Glenlivet and go over layouts. She knew she would have to look at them all again because her mind wasn't capable of concentrating on such mundane things when the woman she loved was probably unconscious and certainly injured and lying in some sterile room in a government bunker.

But she would be back on Monday morning, of that she was sure. Supergirl had never disappeared for longer than that. And maybe her phone had broken or she wasn't able to call out from the DEO facility, but come Monday morning she would be standing in the office waiting for Cat to arrive, just like always, even though her days as an assistant were long past.

As her driver pulled up to the CatCo building after the longest weekend in memory, Cat finally saw the familiar outline of red and blue speeding by overhead. And she knew it wasn't actually Kara, because if Kara was capable of flight, she would have found a way to contact her.

She hurried into the building and tapped her foot the entire way up to the fortieth floor. Her new assistant was at her desk, and she stood when Cat stepped out of the elevator, but Cat didn't even glance in that direction, instead turning sharply and heading to the photography department.

After rapping sharply on the door, she proceeded to push it open with force, and marched in as James looked up from his desk, appearing startled and exhausted.

"Where is she?" she asked, and her voice sounded much firmer and calmer in the air than it did in her head.

"Kara?" Yeah, sorry she didn't call you herself," James began, and for a moment, Cat felt a mix of anger and relief, but then he continued, "she caught some kind of stomach bug over the weekend, went to the ER and everything. She's back home but she's not supposed to come in for at least a few days."

The lie stung, but more than that, it scared her. At least a few days? They were expecting her to be gone that long? She didn't want to think of what might have happened to her.

"No, she does not have a stomach bug," she said, letting the frustration and anger seep into her voice, "and you need to take me to her. Now."

"Ms Grant, I'm not sure what you're getting at..."

"I know, damn it. I know she is Supergirl," she hissed, swinging the door closed before moving to stand right in front of James' desk.

"I know her real name is Kara Zor-El. I know how she got the scar by her eyebrow from falling into a table back on Krypton. I know her mother's name was Alura and her aunt's name was Astra. I know that Winn made her costume after first trying to get her to wear boy shorts and a sports bra," she rolled her eyes at that but kept talking. "I know that she sings in the shower and sleeps on her stomach and I know damn well that was not her flying around National City this morning."

She took a breath and James just stood there looking stunned.

"Please, James," she said, utilizing a word that seldom crossed her lips. "Please just call Alex."

James dropped back into his chair and nodded his head slowly, taking in Cat's weary expression, and the pleading in her eyes. She was dressed impeccably as usual, but there was something about her that made it feel like she had done it all by rote while her real attention was focused far outside herself.

"Okay, Ms Grant. I'll make a call."

"Thank you," she said quietly, before turning to leave.

"Ms Grant," he spoke as she began to open the door. "From what I've heard, she's going to pull through this."

Cat just closed her eyes briefly before opening the door and heading back to her office.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now on tumblr as EnchntedApril

Cat had always loved her glass office. The contractor who had done the remodel on the building after she'd purchased it had second guessed her every step of the way. He kept insisting that she wouldn't want to be so visible to everyone who worked for her. She'd never get a chance to take a break away from prying eyes. Cat had seen it differently. She wanted her employees to see that she worked as hard, if not harder, than they did. Climbing up the corporate ladder she had worked for more than one person who took credit for her work while spending hours on-line shopping for fishing gear, or texting their mistress or planning their next career move while neglecting their actual job. She never wanted to be suspected of not doing work worthy of having her name on the building.

That sort of exposure, however, was not welcome now when she couldn't concentrate on the work sitting on her desk and kept idly walking across from desk to sitting area to bar, just rearranging things without any purpose. She knew that her assistant - Tracy, whom she never mis-named - kept glancing at her uneasily. Normal she would have sent the poor girl on half a dozen errands by now. She probably thought she was about to be fired like her eleven predecessors.

The glass walls were helpful in one way. She was able to see when Agent Alex Danvers stepped off the elevator and she was already standing and gripping the edge of her desk when the woman swept past Tracy without a second glance. That younger woman stood up, alarm written all over her face, but Cat just waved at her to sit back down, as Alex walked into her office.

"Agent Danvers," she said formally, not interested in passive aggressive power plays or pretending she didn't know who was currently fixing her with an appraising glare.

"Ms Grant," Alex replied.

She had left her tactical outfit back at the base, but even dressed in dark-wash jeans and a black button-up shirt she looked fierce and in control.

"I'm a little surprised that you came in person," Cat said, feeling nervous and out of her element faced with this woman who literally had the power to decide whether she was worthy of seeing Kara, both now and in the future. "Is she..." she didn't want to say 'alive' or 'going to be all right' because she was afraid of what the answer might be.

"She's stable for the moment or I wouldn't have left her side," Alex said as if it was obvious she'd never leave her sister under any other circumstances. "James said some things, seemed to think," she shook her head and looked at the floor, short hair falling in a curtain around her face. She looked up again and right into Cat's eyes as she said, "He said that you are sleeping with my sister."

Cat had expected a lot of reactions, but the look filled with so many emotions: possessiveness, sadness, protectiveness, anger and maybe the smallest amount of hope, had not been one of them. She would have been less surprised if Alex had just punched her in the face, but honestly that look felt a lot like a blow to the stomach.

"I am," she answered simply, because already she could tell that Alex wouldn't abide explanations or excuses or half-truths. "It's not only about the sex," she felt obliged to add.

Alex nodded briefly before asking, "How long?"

"Almost six months."

The dark haired woman nodded again, taking it in.

Cat shifted from one foot to the other, struggling to keep from putting one hand on her hip in her usual power stance. The last thing she wanted to do was irritate Alex, she just couldn't keep still with the nervous energy thrumming beneath her skin.

"Will you let me see her?" she asked, afraid of the answer. "I need to see her, Alex. Please don't make me beg. You know my reputation. You know that begging is not something I do, but for her, I will."

"Get your stuff. No phone," Alex said after another moment of silent staring.

Cat grabbed up her bag, and snatched her phone from her desk. She reached out, holding it towards Alex.

"Would you take it? Just in case my son needs me. I'll leave it here if I have to."

Alex was surprised, both at the request and the fact that Cat would do what she asked without question. She took the phone and slipped it into her pocket.

"I'll keep an eye on it," she told her and then motioned towards the door.

Five minutes later, Cat had told her assistant to push off all meetings, scribbled a note about who needed to do what for the rest of the day, and was riding down in her private elevator with Alex Danvers beside her. There was a nondescript black SUV waiting in the underground parking garage, and Cat didn't even make any snide comments about the government affording something with real leather seats as she fastened her seat belt.

"We'll be there in half an hour," Alex said, pulling out of the garage and into midday traffic.

She tapped her ear then before saying, "I have her. What's Supergirl's status."

Whatever the answer was, it didn't draw a smile out of Alex, whose face remained a study in strength, but with a tightness around her mouth and eyes, and a crease across her forehead that all spoke of the worry and responsibility she was shouldering.

"What did they say?" Cat said quietly, when Alex didn't appear to be in a sharing mood.

"No change," Alex replied.

Cat took a few breaths to steady herself as they sped through the city streets.

"Can you - " she had to clear her throat from the emotion rising up before continuing, "can you tell me what happened to her?"

Alex's hands tightened on the steering wheel as she weighed her options. She knew that Cat was going to hear everything either from her or from another DEO associate. She just wasn't sure if she herself was ready to recount what had turned into one of the worst days of her life. A large part of her, she had to admit, just wanted Cat Grant to sit and suffer through the uncertainty for a while longer. News of a relationship between her and Kara had hit Alex hard. Kara had never kept anything from her, from the most minor failed test to her first fumbling sexual experience in college. To know that a relationship had been going on all this time, and that Kara had obviously hidden it at Cat's request was hurtful, but it also made her angry. Just what had Cat Grant done to make Kara start lying to her?

Cat sighed and turned back to the window, assuming that she wouldn't be getting anything more from Agent Danvers. They drove on in silence until the city started to fade into the rear view mirror.

"This isn't exactly how I imagined this meeting going," Cat muttered.

Alex scoffed. "Right. I'm sure you were hoping you'd be able to keep your relationship with my sister a secret for a lot longer."

Cat startled and shifted in her seat to look at the stoic looking agent.

"The secrecy wasn't my idea," Cat said softly. "Well, not past the first month anyway. My son knows about us and I told Kara she was welcome to tell you and anyone else she wanted. She said she wasn't ready."

A forced laugh burst from between Alex's lips.

"Yeah, right. You're telling me that the girl who told everyone her secret identity with a year wanted to keep something like this from her only sister?"

A dozen thoughts were on Cat's tongue, but she just let out a long, sad sigh.

"Obviously I'm not going to be able to convince you of anything," she said. "We were happy and I didn't want to push her. I assumed her reluctance had something to do with the fact that you no doubt see me as the biggest bitch and worst boss imaginable."

Alex stared straight ahead, fingers flexing around the steering wheel.

"She was fighting someone who escaped from Fort Rozz when it crashed here. He'd kept to himself all this time, but apparently he heard about Non's plans to take over the planet and wasn't too happy that Kara interfered with that. I don't think he ever intended to survive the fight. He just wanted to exhaust her before triggering an explosion he knew would have at least a chance of killing her if she was weakened."

Cat found herself gripping her knees with almost bruising force and out of the corner of her eye, Alex noticed. She also saw the stiff way Cat was holding herself and the way her jaw was clenched. She was a woman using everything to hold herself together.

"The blast was powerful, as I'm sure you know, and Kara's powers were depleted just protecting herself from being blown to kingdom come. I - I don't know how she survived the fall," Alex admitted quietly, remembering the sight of her sister lying splayed on the dirt, and the way her own heart had felt like it was going to beat out of her chest as she ran to her, desperately feeling for a pulse, a heartbeat, the movement of a breath.

"She's going to survive, isn't she?" Cat asked the question she had been dreading the answer to since all of this had happened.

Alex shrugged helplessly.

"We think so. There's so much we don't know about her physiology and how her powers work. We've run every test possible on her and she has a severe concussion and multiple broken bones. Four vertebrae were shattered and her spinal cord severed just below her ribs."

Heat rushed to Cat's face, and tears pricked at her eyes.

"Will she be able to walk again?" she asked desperately.

"Worried you won't have your Supergirl anymore?" Alex sneered, unable to resist the verbal strike despite how vulnerable Cat appeared.

"Of course not!" Cat gasped. "I just - I want - I don't..." 

Cat trailed off not able to voice everything she was feeling and knowing that Alex probably wouldn't care anyway. She swallowed down her emotions, sniffling and squeezing her eyes shut to keep any tears from escaping.

Alex actually felt guilty, hearing the woman beside her struggling not to fall apart. She didn't know anything about their relationship, but it was obvious that it was serious and that Cat was terrified of losing Kara.

"All of our research shows that if her powers return, they will heal her body," she said, relenting. "We're just stuck waiting for that to happen."

Cat simply nodded, unable to speak at the moment. She rubbed at her eyes with thumb and forefinger of her right hand while clutching at her chest with the other. A few minutes later she had composed herself enough to ask another question.

"So when do you pull over and force a blindfold or hood over my eyes?"

"I'm not doing that," Alex replied, not looking at what she knew would be a question in Cat's eyes, forcing her to say the words.

"Why not? You obviously despise me."

"Do you love her?"

"Yes," Cat said without hesitation, strength underlying her tone.

"That's why."

They sat in silence for another few minutes until the entrance to the DEO came into view.

"And I don't despise you. Don't do anything to make me change my mind."


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Okay, well this got away from me... It was supposed to be mainly about Cat seeing Kara and all that good stuff, but Alex insisted that she needed equal time, so there you have it. Cat will have to wait just a little bit longer.

As their vehicle approached the compound, Cat could see that there were several people dressed all in black standing outside the oversized doors. Alex clearly knew them because she just put her window down and they walked over, welcoming her by name. She gave them her badge - not the fake FBI version Cat was familiar with - and the taller of the two men scanned it with a handheld device and then radioed to someone inside. The large sliding doors opened slowly, and Alex drove inside to a tunnel built into the man made mountain and lit with flickering fluorescent bulbs overhead.

The parking area was just a short way inside and they parked beside a row of identical vehicles and then headed for an elevator set off to one side. Cat refrained from mentioning all of the possible germs associated with a public elevator, and just silently followed Alex's lead.

They only went down one floor and when they stepped out, Cat immediately noticed that the lighting was brighter, the floors and walls steel grey concrete, with windowed offices lining the hallway. It almost could have been a standard office building except for the black-on-black dress code and the fact that virtually everyone was armed with at least one weapon. Cat was not used to being intimidated by anything, but she the situation was far beyond her realm of experience and she found herself walking closer to Alex as they made their way down the hall.

Alex spoke to several people about things unrelated to Supergirl lying in the medical wing. Cat noticed how they looked at her with a mixture of surprise and distrust. She couldn't say that she blamed them. She hadn't exactly been known for her discretion when it came to sharing newsworthy information.

"The medical wing is right down here," Alex said, stopping at a place where two long hallways met. "You should know what you're going to see," she continued, though she sounded reluctant to be talking about it. Perhaps she was just didn't want to think about it herself. She was mentally exhausted from worrying about her sister, and was surviving on minimal sleep and even less food.

"Are there real doctors here?" Cat questioned and Alex just looked at her as if she had suddenly sprouted a second head.

"Of course there are real doctors here. You think I would have Kara somewhere I didn't think she'd receive the best care possible?"

"I'm sorry, that's not what I meant," Cat said, stumbling over her words in a way she never did. "I wasn't sure if the people here were just scientists. I know that you would only do what's best for her. I know that your people here have patched her up before, and I know how much she depends on you."

Alex looked like she wanted to say something more, but instead she steered the conversation back to Kara's condition. Cat felt a wave of relief that she wasn't being summarily escorted from the premises.

"She's on a respirator right now because the impact from the fall collapsed both lungs. We know that she still had some portion of her powers at that point or she wouldn't have survived." Alex was speaking as if she was discussing a stranger and not her sister, voice and expression dispassionate, but Cat knew it was a coping mechanism. One she felt herself falling into as she listened. It was easier to think only of "Supergirl" and not Kara. Yes they were the same, but Supergirl was only a character Kara played, an outlet for her need to help, a mere subset of the whole. Supergirl leapt into danger. Supergirl fought aliens and assorted other villains. Supergirl had fallen from the sky. Kara, her Kara, was the funny, slightly shy, delightfully nerdy, fiercely protective and deeply loving woman who had become inextricably tied to her life.

They were interrupted as a dark skinned man appeared from a room a few doors down and quickly walked over to them.

"You brought her here?" he asked, shades of reproach in his voice. "I thought you were just going to talk to her and then we'd make a final decision tomorrow."

"I made an executive decision, J'onn. I believe what James said and what she has told me and if I believe that then I have to believe that Kara would want her here."

"I understand that, but there are policies and procedures in place - "

"I'll sign anything I need to sign," Cat interrupted. "If you want to interrogate me after I've seen her, I'll do it. No legal counsel necessary. I'm not here as a reporter, I'm only here for Kara."

"Yes, well you'll forgive me if news of this supposed relationship has left me with some questions, especially considering your obsession with breaking any story involving Supergirl, and the fact that not eight months ago I happen to know for a fact that you held nothing but animosity towards Miss Danvers."

J'onn had taken a step closer and somehow looked even more imposing than normal, standing there with his arms crossed over his muscular chest, eyes boring into Cat's.

"I know what you're referring to," Cat said, expression taking on something akin to shame. "Kara told me that someone here impersonated her when she was "indisposed" shortly before Myriad. She wouldn't tell me how they did it, but I'm going to assume that somehow you were the one who bore the brunt of my behavior. I can only say that I was burying a lot of deeply held feelings at that time and covering up by being purposely hurtful." She turned to both of these important people in Kara's life and continued, saying, "Kara has forgiven me for how I acted, but I still haven't fully forgiven myself so I can understand if you each have doubts about my sincerity now."

For several seconds, Alex and J'onn were struck dumb by Cat's words. An apology for past behavior, or even admission of past mistakes was close to the last thing either of them had expected from the woman they thought they knew. True, Kara's most recent stories about work had been filled with much more admiration and affection for Cat than the tales from the past, but they had assumed that the promotion and lack of daily interaction at the office had led to some sort of odd 'distance makes the heart grow fonder' phenomenon. Kara was well-known for her her almost pathological inability to remain mad at anyone, Siobhan Smythe excepted.

J'onn was the first to speak.

"Yes... Well, you are here now, so we will just have to accept that, but you can expect a ream of papers to sign before you leave this facility."

"Understood."

"Very well then, Agent Danvers, you're responsible for her. I'm headed to the command center."

"Yes, Director," Alex replied, standing taller and adopting a more formal tone.

It wasn't until J'onn had walked around the corner out of sight that Alex turned to Cat.

"I'm beginning to see the side of you that Kara has been trying to tell me about," she said. "She does speak of you, you know. Like, all the time," Alex added with a roll of her eyes. It felt good to joke about Kara as if she was just off on patrol instead of lying on her sun bed surrounded by wires, but her levity was momentary and then the worry was back.

"Maybe she was trying to soften you up before telling you about us," Cat suggested.

Alex made a noncommittal noise and gestured for Cat to follow her down the hallway. They stopped just outside the door J'onn had walked through.

"There are a lot of machines," Alex said, voice sounding strained as she tried to keep from becoming to emotional. "We're monitoring her heart and brain activity, and she's hooked up to IVs for fluids and medications. We're never exactly sure what dosage to give her so we start low and increase incrementally as we watch the results." 

She paused and took a deep breath, eyes slipping closed briefly. They snapped back open when she felt a gentle touch on her forearm.

"When did you last sleep?" Cat asked gently, knowing that if Kara wasn't there to look out for Alex, then she would want someone else to do so.

Alex shook her head and pulled her arm away.

"I'm fine," she replied, though her tone was softer than her terse words deserved. "It's hard to sleep when I don't know what her condition will be when I wake up," she admitted.

Cat made no reply, because there was nothing she could say that would help.

Alex took another breath and then said, "I need a few minutes with her, and then I will come out and get you."

"Of course," Cat acquiesced.

She moved to lean with her back against the wall beside the door. She didn't want to catch a glimpse inside when Alex opened the door, because she knew she would break down when she saw her, and she didn't know if she would be able to let that door close again with her on the outside.

Alex gave a perfunctory nod and quickly slipped inside the room. A nurse was sitting beside the bed, and Alex didn't even have to say a word and the woman was rising and heading out, but not before grabbing Alex's hand and giving it a warm squeeze. Her name was Denise, Alex remembered, and she had been one of the first people to work on Kara when she arrived at the DEO following the fight. And after the lengthy surgery, she was the one who had written down Alex's instruction that the super hero was never to be alone in her room.

Everything was almost exactly as Alex had left it. She saw some additional notes scribbled on the chart at the foot of the bed, but there was nothing unexpected. Denise had apparently changed the dressings on several visible wounds, but other than that, Kara looked the same. Her eyes were closed, skin unnaturally pale, wires and tubes trailing from her chest and head and both arms, and a tube coming from her mouth, taped down and forcing air in and out of her chest. The hideous whoosh and thump of the machine would haunt Alex's nightmares.

"Hey," she said in a quiet conversational way. "Still sleeping, I see. That's okay, Kar, you take all the time you need. You deserve the rest."

She sat down on the rolling doctor's stool and scooted herself closer to the head of the bed. With one hand she reached out to brush along the side of Kara's face, while the other grasped at cool fingertips, mindful of the IV protruding from the back of a usually strong hand.

"I'm done leaving the DEO now until you wake up," she told the unconscious woman. "So y'know if you do wake up, I'll either be in this room or very nearby. If I'm not here, you just ask whoever is to come get me. Because there will always be someone here, Kara. You aren't going to be alone."

She knew, from long conversations spent lying on the roof of the house in Midvale, that Kara was terrified of being alone for any length of time. It reminded her too much of her time in the pod, trapped in the Phantom Zone. She had been in stasis, but it hadn't completely shut down her brain, and the deep sense of profound loneliness still rose to haunt her from the edges of memory. Alex herself was terrified that Kara was aware of what was happening to her, trapped in her own mind and reliving that long-ago trauma. She wouldn't stand for Kara to believe herself abandoned again.

"So, I - uh - I brought someone back with me. I think you'll be glad she's here. She'll definitely be glad she's here. I'm not sure how long I would have been able to keep her away. Cat... she told James that the two of you are in a relationship. At first I figured she was just using it as a sure way to get in here, but then I talked to her and I... Well I believe her. I guess you didn't want me to know, and that's okay - really - it's totally fine. We're good, Kara. You're my sister, and I love you, okay? And I just hope you aren't upset that this has all come out this way, but we'll talk more when you wake up, okay?"

Alex let out a long, shaky breath and wiped at her eyes with the back of her hand.

"She's right outside the room and I'm going to let her in as soon I finish talking to you. I mean, I suppose you're thinking that I'm getting pretty boring droning on and on, but... I miss you, Kar," Alex said with a sniffle. "I miss you so much and this is the only way I can feel close to you right now, so you're just going to have to put up with it until you decide to wake up and kick me out so you can get some peace and quiet."

Alex had been trying so hard to contain her tears, her stronger emotions, anything that could hurt Kara, but she was just so tired and so scared, that her voice cracked on every other word until she stopped speaking and just rested her head on the bed, next to Kara's shoulder, and cried. She was still trying to stifle herself, but unable to stop the relentless flow until her eyes were aching, eyelids seeming to scrape across them as she blinked. She breathed in, catching the scent of antiseptic and plastic tubing and blood, but also the faint hint of citrus shampoo. Another deep breath, and Alex was in control again, tears successfully and ruthlessly contained.

"Okay, so I'll bring Cat in now, but I'm only going as far as the command center. We've been monitoring National City for anything that might have caught your attention if you were there, and J'onn has been handling it. He hates your costume, by the way," Alex said with a watery chuckle. "He says he's tired of guys checking out his ass in that skirt. But we don't want people to start wondering and worrying about where you are, because we all know that you're going to be back to yourself in no time, right? Of course you are."

Alex leaned in and whispered, "I know you're in there, Kara. Please just come back to us soon."

She pressed a gentle kiss at Kara's temple and stood on shaky legs.

"I love you, Kara, and I'll be back to see you soon."


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> C'mon, we all knew it would be more than 5 chapters...
> 
> ;)

When the door to Kara's room opened again, Cat immediately pushed off from the wall. She turned to face Alex and for a moment she just froze at the look on the other woman's face. 

"Is she still..." Cat managed to choke out when Alex looked in her direction.

Alex looked slightly confused and then she dropped her gaze, clearing her throat and wiping her hand across her face as if remembering how she must look with her eyes puffy and bloodshot, and her skin blotchy from her crying jag.

"No," she coughed again when her voice came out sounding like gravel over sandpaper. "No, she's the same. Still stable," she finished, shaking her head and then raising her eyes to meet Cat's.

There was a challenge there; the younger woman daring Cat to say something, to try to comfort her, to reach out and touch her. Cat saw it clearly, and knew that Alex might not want the contact, but she clearly needed it. She took a tentative step forward, ready to back off if Alex pushed her away, but that didn't happen. There was another slight hesitation before she wrapped her arms around the other woman, and she felt muscles tighten like steel beneath her hands before abruptly relaxing, as if was the first bit of relief Alex had allowed herself.

Their silent embrace lasted for less than a minute before Alex stepped back, blinking rapidly and studiously focused on a spot on Cat's left shoulder rather than her face.

"She should be fine for now," she told Cat. "You can go and sit with her. I'll be nearby talking with the doctors or in the command center if anything changes or if you want to leave." She looked Cat in the eye then before saying, "Do not leave her unless someone is on their way or already in the room with her. Do you understand?"

Cat wanted to snap that of course she understood, and that she had no intention of leaving like some casual fuck-buddy who didn't want to be entangled now that things were no longer easy.

Instead she replied, "Understood, Agent Danvers," and received a terse nod in reply.

Alex silently ushered her inside.

"I like to think she can hear us," Alex said quietly, leaving Cat's head swimming at the rapid changes in Alex's mood and demeanor.

Then the younger woman was quietly closing the door and leaving her alone with the woman she loved.

Cat had thought that the first sight of Kara lying in something akin to a glowing hospital bed would buckle her knees and draw instant tears from her eyes. Instead she felt herself standing up even straighter, stepping closer to the bed while taking note of every piece of medical equipment, every scratch and bruise on pale skin, every rise and fall of Kara's chest.

She remembered then the last time she'd been in a hospital.

Carter had broken his wrist during gym class at his private school - the first of several she had pulled him from - and he'd been transported to the hospital by ambulance. Her driver had dropped her at the door to the ER and she had rushed in, hands shaking, eyes darting around, looking for someone to direct her. She'd been ready to fall apart, and then an orderly had led her to curtain area three, and she'd heard Carter whimpering in pain.

Instantly the weakness of emotion had been pushed down, and she had swung the curtain aside and marched in, snapping orders at the nurse and questioning why he didn't have a cast yet, and why she had bothered signing consent forms at the beginning of the school year if they were just going to make Carter sit around in pain until she arrived. Her son had needed her to be his strength and she wasn't going to show him her fear or her worry. She saved her tears for late that night, curled in her bed with the receiver of old baby monitor she had snuck into his room after he fell asleep.

Now Kara needed her and she wasn't going to let her emotions get in the way of that. She knew - deep down she knew - that she was going to leave this room looking just as wrecked as Alex had, but she would at least start out strong.

"Kara?" she whispered as she sat down on the abandoned stool. 

Then she shook her head. She didn't need to whisper here. She wasn't in danger of waking her, and if Kara did wake it would be a welcome change.

"Alex brought me," she said, voice reaching a normal volume, if somewhat hesitant. 

She felt slightly foolish talking to an unconscious person, much the same as she'd felt when speaking to the comatose Leslie Willis. But this was Kara, and if there was even the slightest chance that she could hear what was going on around her, she was going to be a voice she could focus on.

"I suppose she told you that already. It wasn't exactly easy to convince your friends to let me see you, " she said. "Apparently they were somewhat unwilling to believe that a stone-cold bitch would be in a relationship with Sunny Danvers," she continued, tone one of self-deprecation. "I hope you understand why I had to tell them. I just - I couldn't go another day without seeing you. Without knowing what was happening with you. And of course James tried to spin some ridiculous story about food poisoning. When you get out of here, we're going to have to arrange a meeting with everyone to go over some more reasonable excuses. I'm envisioning an excel spreadsheet so they can keep track of what they've used recently."

Speaking so casually of Kara's recovery, saying things she knew would bring a smile or rolled eye to Kara's face if they were talking about them while curled up on the penthouse sofa, had Cat releasing some of the tension she had been holding for almost seventy-two hours. It seemed to drain from every pore, relaxing stiff shoulders and loosening the invisible band across her chest.

"I don't know if Alex or your boss here - Jon is it? - or any of your doctors have let you know exactly what your condition is. I'm not even sure if that's something you're supposed to tell an unconscious patient. But I've never been in the business of holding back the truth, and you know that," Cat said matter-of-factly. "Alex says you blew your powers out just keeping yourself alive when you - landed," she said, preferring that word to the more accurate "crashed". "So you have a few broken bones and damaged lungs. That's why you have that hideous contraption down your throat, if you were wondering."

Cat took a breath then and looked at every inch of her lover one more time. Suddenly she didn't want to think about everything else that was damaged in her body. She didn't want to talk about spines and paralysis and healing time. She didn't even want to think about it. And now she understood how uncomfortable Alex had looked when she'd explained Kara's condition. Instead, Cat inched the stool closer and hesitantly reached out one hand.

She still hadn't touched her. 

She told herself it was because she didn't want to hurt the other woman, but of course that was a lie that even she couldn't believe. She had been afraid to touch her because she knew - knew deep in her bones, in her guts - that once she touched her, she wouldn't be able to let go. The aura of control would slip and she would be nothing but a raw nerve, naked emotion spilling out against her will.

But she couldn't just sit there any longer. She had to cross those last scant inches and brush her fingers against the softest skin she'd ever felt.

And when she did, she couldn't help but whisper an apology because she just couldn't be strong any longer.

Her delicate hand first brushed along Kara's brow, sweeping back long blond hair and sifting it through her fingers. Her breath started to hitch and she trembled as she mapped a path down a high cheekbone, over a strong jaw, on to a shoulder covered in a standard blue-patterned hospital gown. The tears spilled from her eyes and she ran her hand down an arm she could easily imagine wrapped around her. All the while, she tried to ignore the wires and tubes that impeded her progress, but she couldn't just imagine them away. They were there helping to keep Kara alive, and that fact, more than any other, brought a sob tearing from Cat's chest, because even as she'd envisioned different possibilities all weekend long, she had never really let herself think about actually losing her.

"I love you," she said brokenly. "I know I always make you say it first, and I'm sorry," she continued, words pulled out between ragged breaths. "I love you so much."

It was true that Kara was always the one to initiate affection, whether physical or verbal. The older woman had never been freely demonstrative and it was a hard habit to break. Being openly tender and loving meant also opening herself up to be hurt and that was something she only did with Carter. Now she looked at the woman lying before her and remembered all of the casual touches, a hand on her arm during a drive back from a tough meeting, a sweet compliment when she was feeling overwhelmed, the gentle support she offered without ever expecting anything in return, and always, always the spoken admissions of love. Cat remembered and she grieved at all of the chances she had missed to be a better partner to Kara; to be the person who deserved such devotion.

The tears continued and Cat kept repeating a litany of love and promises. She wasn't sure how much time passed, but eventually she was able to take a long shaky breath as all of the fear and sorrow receded just enough to be manageable. Her eyes slipped closed and she leaned forward, knowing her back would never forgive her, but needing to be closer. She nestled her head into a familiar spot against Kara's shoulder and allowed her wandering hand to keep moving up and down that long, strong arm.

"I haven't told Carter yet," she said after a long silence. "I was hoping to have better news. You know how he worries." The deflection was obvious and would have brought a shy smile to Kara's lips had she been awake. "I don't think you would want him to see you like this, even if your sister would agree to it, so I will call Maria and have her stay with him. He likes her well enough, and I'm not leaving here without you."

Silence fell once more, aside from the sounds of medical equipment, and Cat felt the last of her adrenaline melting away and a profound exhaustion stealing in to take its place. She lifted her head, afraid that she would fall asleep and unwilling to appear that weak to anyone who might enter the room.

"I left James and Marco in charge back at the office," Cat said, mentioning the head of the city desk, whose name was actually Marcus. "Hopefully they won't completely destroy CatCo before you wake up," she continued, and then launched into more detailed descriptions of what was going on in National City and at the office, as if she and Kara were just on a phone call while the super hero was off filling in for Superman in Metropolis, or flying back from a weekend disaster in Europe.

She was still talking when the door opened and Lucy Lane entered. Cat was surprised, and cut herself off mid-sentence.

"Baby Lane. I didn't realize you'd left my employ to come here to be part of the Alienbusters."

"It's Major, well, Director Lane now," Lucy said, "and I didn't realize you'd actually brought Supergirl to her knees."

It was meant as a joke, but Cat was on her feet a split-second later and standing toe-to-toe with the petite woman.

"You would do well to shut the hell up about matters you do not understand," she hissed, glancing over her shoulder as if the squabble taking place would somehow disturb Kara.

"Whoa, whoa there, Cat," Lucy said, holding up her hands in surrender. "You have to know I didn't mean it."

The fire in Cat's eyes dimmed and she took a step back, saying, "I'm not in a joking mood right now."

"I know that, and I'm sorry. I spoke to Alex."

Cat huffed out a breath and shook her head.

"Then maybe you do just think it's all about the sex," she said resignedly.

"No, actually Alex was pretty emphatic about it being more than that."

That was unexpected, and Cat felt just a small bit of relief over the fact that perhaps she and Alex really were coming to an understanding of sorts, albeit under the most trying circumstances.

"Yes," she said quietly, "there's a lot more to it than that."

"She actually sent me to prepare you."

"Prepare me for what?" Cat asked, feeling instantly defensive.

"Ease up, Cat. You're not being kicked out or strapped into a lie detector to prove your worthiness. She and Dr. Hamilton have come up with a possible treatment plan. They'll be here in fifteen minutes."

Cat knew there was more by the way Lucy was looking at her with sympathy and concern in her eyes.

"What aren't you telling me, Lane?"

"Alex said it might not be the most pleasant thing to witness," Lucy admitted, "and she wasn't sure if you would want to stay."

Cat looked at her straight on, and her hands rose, unbidden, to rest on her hips as her full Queen of All Media mask fell into place.

"I'm staying."


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A bit short but I wanted to get something out and I was at the beach all day with my twins. :)

When the door to Kara's room next opened, it was to allow Alex, Dr. Hamilton and two nurses to enter. One of the nurses was pushing a tray of instruments, and soon the already small room felt a lot smaller. Cat stood from the stool she had returned to after her words with Lucy. Without even speaking, one of the nurses started pulling the IVs from the ports in Kara's arms.

"What are you going to do to her?" Cat asked, walking towards them and looking between Alex and Dr. Hamilton, while noticing that Lucy had stepped away from the wall where she'd stationed herself and was moving towards her side.

Cat shot her a glare that clearly told her to back off.

Alex had been moving towards Kara's bed, but she stopped in front of Cat instead.

"The last time she lost her powers, it took a surge of adrenaline to kick-start them again."

"Yes, yes, Jimmy down a well - or elevator - Kara told me about that."

"Well we have a drug equivalent for that and we're going to see if that can get her powers working at least enough to start healing her."

"Well that sounds simple enough. Why didn't you already do it?"

Alex frowned, brows drawn together and eyes flashing.

"Because it's not that simple," she countered. "At the moment, Kara is virtually human, but if we give her a normal dose of this drug then it could push her dormant powers just enough to make them filter it from her system without having any other benefit."

"And?" Cat asked, because obviously there was an "and" coming and she hated waiting for the obvious.

"And if we give her too much and her powers don't react, then it could make her worse," Alex said, voice like ice, cracking and snapping on each word.

"Worse how?"

"It could kill her," Alex replied, hands balled into fists on her hips. "Is that what you were waiting for me to say?"

Cat's eyes had gone wide and her mouth had fallen open and she pulled it closed before saying, "It could kill her and you're still going to try it? Are you out of your mind? She isn't your science fair project! You can't do this to her!"

"Are you seriously trying to dictate what I should do for her? You think I haven't tried to find any other possible solution? She is my sister, damn it! I only have your word that she's anything more your glorified bed-warmer! And you dare to question me? As if I would ever put her in danger if I could possibly help it?"

Cat had taken a step backwards as Alex's anger had escalated, and now Lucy actually moved from her side and over towards Alex.

"Agent Danvers," she said softly, then, "Alex," as she placed a steadying hand on the other woman's arm.

Dr. Hamilton chose that moment to interject.

"We had hoped to avoid this step," she said, and her eyes looked almost as tired as Alex's. "But Supergirl's - Kara's - condition is worsening. We have been closely monitoring her, and since this morning, her oxygen levels have been falling despite the help of the ventilator, and her heart rate has been steadily decreasing. If this continues, she will simply fade away. She needs her powers back to counteract the devastating effects of her injuries."

"She's dying?" Cat's voice was hushed, eyes instantly glossy with tears she would never allow to fall in public.

Alex had gone to Kara's side, and her back was now to the rest of the room's inhabitants, but Cat could see that she was holding Kara's hand tenderly, and appeared to be whispering something into the younger woman's ear. Cat's heart ached, for herself and for Alex, and she instantly regretted questioning the woman who would clearly do anything for her sister.

"I don't know if Director Lane already told you, but given the uncertainty surrounding this procedure, you may want to wait with her somewhere else," Dr. Hamilton said, avoiding Cat's somewhat rhetorical question.

"N-no," Cat surprised herself by stammering, something she never did, "I want to stay here."

"Very well, but if you interfere in any way, Director Lane will remove you by force.

Cat just nodded her understanding, looking from Lucy to the doctor and acknowledging that the well-trained woman would have no difficulty with that action.

Dr. Hamilton looked like she was about to say something further, but instead she just nodded her head respectfully and began readying things on the tray, filling two syringes and pulling a defibrillator from the corner of the room.

Cat cleared her throat delicately before saying, "May I ask what you expect to happen?"

Alex straightened up and turned, fixing Cat with a hard glare, softened only by the shine of tears held at bay.

"We're expecting her body to react as a human would, at least initially. That includes probable seizure activity and possibly cardiac arrest," Alex told her. "If we can get her through that then hopefully her powers will take over from there."

After a brief hesitation, Cat asked, "Could I..."

"Of course," Alex said, moving from Kara's side, knowing what Cat wanted to do. "She would want that."

Cat tried to block out the sounds of the Doctor and nurses and Alex all moving around behind her, preparing things and putting on standard issue scrubs.

"I'm still here, darling," she said, the rarely-used endearment slipping naturally from between her lips. She spoke quietly, just low enough that it would be nothing but a murmur to the others in the room. "Don't be afraid, Kara. You know your sister is doing everything she can to help you and I'll be here too. I'm not going anywhere, darling," she went on, angrily brushing at her eyes and sniffling, hating how these horrible emotions could swamp even her stalwart defenses. "I love you. I love you, Kara. Please, please fight this."

She laid a soft kiss on Kara's cheek and backed away until she was against the wall and beside Lucy Lane near the door.

Everything moved quickly after that, with Dr. Hamilton and Alex injecting twin syringes into Kara's IV ports, and the nurses standing at the ready, one at the head of the bed and one at the foot. There was no reaction for a number of seconds and then there was a twitch of one hand and a spasm in the other before a full seizure took hold and Alex was shouting at the nurses while holding Kara's head steady, trying to keep her from dislodging the ventilator that placidly pumped on in its rhythm as if nothing was wrong.

To Cat it felt as if the seizure lasted for forever, but when it ended there was no relief, because then a harsh alarm filled the air and a nurse was rushing to the defibrillator while Alex ripped open Kara's gown.

"Noooo!" the scream torn from Cat's throat didn't even sound like her. It barely sounded human.

She couldn't hear, or more accurately, she couldn't understand what those working on Kara were saying. She knew she should be understanding, but it was all just sound, coalesced within her mind to an incomprehensible roar. She felt Lucy strong grip on her upper arms and realized that she must have lunged forward. Trying to shake off the firm hold was impossible, and something clicked in her brain and told her that continued struggling would just get her summarily tossed from the room.

And that couldn't happen.

Whether Kara lived or died, Cat had promised her that she would be with her, and she wouldn't break that promise by being forced away due to her own hysteria.

She quieted, if only slightly, still repeating Kara's name under her breath, and just watched as the medical personnel, along with Alex, worked to stabilize the superhero. Through long torturous minutes, she watched them work, and the only thing that kept her from crying out again was the fact that she knew that Kara's sister would never stop trying to save her.

When everything finally grew quiet again, it was almost surreal. After the rush and clamor and endless noise, the dull blip of the heart monitor and the hiss from the ventilator were like music and song combined. Cat felt herself falling, and the last thing she remembered was worried brown eyes staring in astonishment.


	6. Chapter 6

In television and movies fainting spells always ended with a wavy fade-in to the fainter opening their eyes while lying on a plush bed or sofa, concerned faces peering down at them. In real life, fainting rarely resulted in more than a few moments of unconsciousness, especially when brought on by stress and not some underlying physical ailment.

Which was why Cat Grant was slumped on the cold concrete floor as she blinked open her eyes and felt a hand lightly slapping the side of her cheek. The only movie-sequel touch was that the eyes peering down at her did look legitimately concerned, but probably only because the mind behind them was afraid of a lawsuit.

"Wha - "

"You passed out," Lucy said as she helped Cat sit up, propped against the wall. "Alex caught you before you cracked your skull open."

That brought Cat around more and she looked to find the dark-haired woman. There she was, back at Kara's side, gentle hands moving with deft care and attention. She made no indication that she even knew Cat had come to.

"Ka- Kara?"

"She's stable. That's about all I know right now, but I think it worked, at least I think it helped."

Cat started pushing herself off the floor, and Lucy rose before leaning down to offer her a hand up.

"Hey, hey, are you sure you should be standing?"

"I'm fine," Cat insisted. "It was merely a reaction to the stress."

"Yeah, quite a reaction," Lucy commented but didn't press Cat by mentioning the fact that the older woman had practically had a mental breakdown right in front of her.

"So are they planning to tell us what's going on?" Cat asked, letting her mask of caustic comments fall over her to obscure her earlier weakness.

"We'll be right with you, Ms Grant," came Dr. Hamilton's voice, "You're always welcome to wait down the hall in the lounge if you're bored."

Cat opened her mouth to say something else, but thought better of it and crossed her arms over her chest to sulk. She wasn't going to be kicked out after all she'd everything that had happened already.

The medical personnel circled around Kara's bed were speaking in low voices and Cat couldn't even pretend to hear what they were saying. She was forced to just wait, which was something she hated. As the minutes passed she became more and more anxious, needing to know if the procedure had worked.

She automatically took half a step closer when Dr. Hamilton turned around and the nurses headed out of the room.

"Would you like me to..." The doctor asked, speaking to Alex who's expression was unreadable.

"Yes, go ahead," Alex said, looking slightly more optimistic.

"Well, Ms Danvers, Kara, had a more violent reaction than we were hoping for, but it does appear that the drug pushed her system into unleashing her powers, at least long enough to do some healing throughout her body. All of her superficial wounds, bruises, scrapes and the like have been healed, and she has started fighting against the ventilator, leading us to believe that her lungs have also been healed. We'll be removing the vent shortly. The smaller fractures in her ankles and ribs seem to be gone, or nearly so. That leaves the spinal injuries and the concussion as our most pressing concerns."

"But aren't her powers still working? Shouldn't those things just disappear or something?" Cat asked, feeling frustrated by the uncertainty surrounding Kara's care.

"They are definitely still working in her body, but no where near full strength. Her skin has become impenetrable again and we do believe that she will now recover fully, with time and direct sun exposure."

"And just how are you going to give her the sun while she's buried here underground?" Cat asked tersely.

Alex stepped in front of the Doctor and after a quick glance at Lucy, settled her eyes on Cat's face.

"We started building something outside two days ago," Alex said. "We aren't completely incompetent here, Ms Grant. As soon as the 'sun room' is complete, we will move Kara to it. We'll be able to continue monitoring her from there.

"Bring her to my penthouse," Cat said with hardly a pause to consider her offer and the fact that it would likely mean letting DEO agents in and out of her home at will.

Alex stared at her incredulously, before saying, "Are you out of your mind?"

"No, Agent Danvers, I'm not. I am, however, the owner of the entire roof of my building, over half of which has been turned into a garden, complete with privacy hedges and full sun all day long. If she needs sunlight, I can't think of a better place. I certainly think it would be faster and easier and frankly, more comfortable, than anything you can rig up out here, unless you're planning on building a greenhouse out there in the desert and putting Supergirl on display like some grotesque Snow White."

In the span of a heartbeat, Alex was standing directly in front of Cat, looking down at her, hands clenching at her hips as if to keep them from slapping the older woman.

"Don't you dare criticize our treatment of her. Don't you fucking dare. She is my family, my sister, and my responsibility. She has ALWAYS been my responsibility, and even when I didn't always like it, I always kept her safe," Alex said, voice low and dangerous though cracked as emotion pulsed nearer to the surface. "That has never changed. I would give my LIFE for hers and everyone here knows it. But then here you come, sweeping in and announcing that you love her? You spent two years browbeating her, never even getting her NAME right, and suddenly you love her? And you think I'm going to let you take her away from me - " she shook her head, stuttering slightly, "a-away from here? That is so not happening."

"I am not trying to steal her," Cat said, knowing she should be placating Alex, but unable to rein herself in enough to do so. "I am trying to help her, and what I'm offering makes sense. At least talk to the Doctor here," she said, motioning towards Hamilton. "Talk to Lane and your other boss. Ask them!"

Alex didn't even reply, she just spun around and marched out of the room, slamming the door as she left.

Cat released a long, tired breath before turning to Lucy and then the doctor.

"Can't you people see that I just want to help her? My idea makes sense. Hell, the other half of my roof contains a helipad and you can bring her there after dark when the traffic copters are gone. No one would know she's there and she'd be somewhere she knows instead of some uncomfortable display in the middle of the desert."

Lucy looked to Dr. Hamilton, who nodded slightly before leaving the room.

"We'll look into it, and I'll talk to Alex," Lucy said. "Will you be all right here with Kara? You aren't going to pass out again, are you?"

Cat rolled her eyes, wishing she could erase that somewhat humiliating incident.

"I'm fine, and you know I'm not planning on leaving this room any time soon."

"Fine. Sit tight, talk to Kara, and the doc and I will see what we can do. We still have a few hours before nightfall anyway and we can't move her before then."

It looked like Cat was going to make some other scathing remark, but she didn't. She was just too tired. She gave a little shake of her head, a slight sound of agreement, and then went to sit beside Kara once more. Lucy watched her for a moment, noting how gently Cat cradled the hand that was now free of intravenous lines, and then she quietly left the room.

Time seemed to stand still in that small room, and Cat kept one hand touching Kara at all times, even when she dozed off at some point, the strain of the days' events pulling her body under in a bit more subtle way than her earlier fainting spell. She jerked awake later and went to check the time on her phone, but remembered that she didn't have it. She sighed quietly, thankful that she had told Carter's nanny that she was going away for the night on a last minute trip to Metropolis. It had been the last call she'd made before Alex's arrival in the CatCo offices.

She scrubbed at her eyes which felt dry and sand papery, a combination of earlier tears and the dry air in the underground bunker. Kara still hadn't made any sign that she was waking up, but Cat had taken considerable comfort just in being able to see the younger woman's face without the ventilator, which had been removed during one of several visits by various doctors and nurses.

The sound of the door opening reached her ears, but she didn't turn around, continuing to finger-comb Kara's hair while rubbing the thumb of her other hand over a still hand.

A scraping of metal on linoleum, a few muffled footsteps, and then Alex Danvers was seated on the other side of the bed, hand quickly reaching to squeeze her sister's wrist as if proving to herself that a steady pulse still beat beneath the skin even though the constant blip of the heart monitor made such a check unnecessary.

Cat didn't say anything. She knew that whatever decision had been made, she would not be able to change it, and antagonizing Alex would only hurt her in the long run. The silence stretched between them as the minutes ticked by, and Cat was almost startled when it was broken by the sound of Alex's rough, uneven voice.

"You know, I wasn't always the best big sister."

"I find that very difficult to believe," Cat said quietly.

"No, no it's true. I mean there I was, only-child-extraordinaire, and suddenly an awkward, needy, strange girl was living in my room and I was supposed to act like I was happy to have a sibling."

"And yet Kara never has a bad word to say about you. I mean she doesn't talk about her early days on Earth a lot, and I don't push for details, but somewhere along the line she started viewing you as the most important person in her world."

"Yeah, well maybe that's why her relationship with you upset me. For a solid year, I was a sister in name only. I pushed her away, God, I ignored her at school, let my friends talk about her behind her back, avoided her at home... I was basically an angsty teenage you."

"I'm sure your barbs were nowhere near as pointed as mine."

"Maybe not, but still, I didn't treat her the way I should have. And then to suddenly find out that here's this high-powered woman who has always treated my sister like crap, and now they're dating? I mean is that what I taught her when she was younger?"

"You mean it's not healthy to let yourself get verbally eviscerated on a daily basis and then fall in love with the one doing it?"

"So you do know what I mean."

"Of course I do. You think I didn't question her over and over again? Didn't try to tell her that she could do so much better than a bitter, sarcastic, woman almost twice her age? But she wouldn't listen to me, or, rather, she came back with a hundred reasons why I was wrong to think that way. You changed - for her. You became that sister she always idolized. Is it so hard to believe that she has the same power over me?"

"I suppose not. She does have a way of bringing out the best in everyone around her."

Alex stood and pushed her chair back, then leaned over to place a kiss on Kara's forehead.

"We're preparing a helicopter for medical transport now," the younger woman said, and she looked into Cat's eyes for the first time since entering the room, studying them, studying her. "I won't leave her there alone though."

"I didn't think you would," Cat replied. "There are two guest rooms; one for each of you. The only other person in the apartment besides my son will be his nanny and she won't say a word, if for no other reason than to avoid an enormous lawsuit," Cat continued with a wry lift of one corner of her mouth. "There's a private elevator straight from the penthouse to the roof and it should be easy enough for the two of us to move her up and down with the sun."

Alex wasn't exactly surprised that Cat had already planned everything out. She was a woman who got things done. Still, it was nice to have someone else to help handle things. She almost thought she could rely on her but she would wait until Kara woke to make the final determination.

"It's almost eight o'clock now and we'll plan to leave at midnight," Alex said, pulling Cat's phone out of her pocket. "You might want to call your son to talk to him before bed."

Cat stared down at her phone and then back up at Alex.

"Thank you," was all she said, but both women knew it was for more than just the phone.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I reeeeeally planned to wake her up in this chapter... But next one, I promise!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm on tumblr now! EnchntedApril. Come follow me and make me feel less lonely there. :)

The DEO may not be an official military organization, but when schedules are made, there are adhered to just as strictly as any battle plan. It is exactly midnight when black-clad agents arrive in Kara's room and start releasing the breaks on her hospital bed and maneuvering it out of the room. Cat jumps up and out of the way and is about to start peppering them with questions (and telling them to be more careful about jostling the superhero) but then Alex arrives and places a steadying hand on Cat's shoulder and tells her that they're ready to leave.

Cat is surprised by the casual physical contact from the woman who has been so prickly and mostly so angry with her, but their last conversation had cleared the air a bit, and it no longer feels so stifling when they look at each other and then at Kara before following her out the door.

The bed will be staying at the DEO, but Kara is still immobilized on a backboard to keep her spine from becoming even more damaged. She is transferred to a med-evac bench in the helicopter and strapped in securely.

"There are agents bringing a hospital bed to your penthouse as we speak," Alex said, climbing aboard and giving Cat a hand up because all of the other agents are afraid to get too close to her.

They've heard too many stories.

"It should get there just after us. Is there an elevator from the parking garage that avoids the doorman?"

"Yes," Cat answers, "but they will need a key card to gain access to both the garage and the elevator."

Alex's mouth tilts up slightly in amusement. "That won't be a problem," she says, feeling a slight bit of satisfaction at the power she, and by extension, her team, wields.

It's definitely petty, but still satisfying.

When everyone is strapped in, only the medical staff who are flying with them, are within arms' reach of Kara, and Cat hates that. She keeps her attention on the woman's still features, barely shifting when the large rotor above roars to life, sending a low vibration through the aircraft. She's flown in helicopters before, and has never liked it, but this time she feels a sense of relief rather than anxiety wash over her. Getting away from that cold, stark bunker is certainly part of it, but the larger part is owed to the fact that she is sure that getting Kara back to the penthouse, back to something more familiar and worth waking up to, will be more healing than any manufactured sun structure in the desolate sandy hills outside National City.

Alex is also watching Kara, but she occasionally glances over at Cat, trying to remember more of the stories Kara has told recently. Really trying to see what her sister obviously sees in this woman whom she has always pictured as cold and intractable. She knows that she has seen much more than Cat would prefer. The stubborn strength and vicious tongue have been abundantly evident, but there has been nothing cold about the way the older woman reacts to Kara.

The 'copter rushes towards the city, low over the desert and moving fast. The lights of the suburbs come soon and they increase altitude and slow down as the skyscrapers of National City come into view. Despite the relatively late hour, there are still lights blinking in and out of view through windows throughout the city, and cars moving through the streets below.

Cat's building is the tallest in the high-rent residential area downtown. Alex looks out the window and can make out the dim shapes of a garden and the bright white of a helipad landing box. There are no other aircraft around, since the traffic choppers have long-since landed and there hasn't been any unusual criminal activity to call out police air support. Any commercial airplanes are too far overhead to notice the sleek black helicopter slowly sinking to the rooftop of a luxury apartment building.

The dense branches of the evergreen hedge, along with the willowy limbs of a flowering tree in the garden bend dangerously low as the large rotors gradually slowed to a stop. There was a rush of movement then as the DEO agents unstrapped, and Alex radioed down to the agents who were already waiting by the garage elevator. Cat fumbled with the buckles and belts holding her in place, muttering a curse as she broke a nail before freeing herself.

Climbing out of the helicopter while wearing a Chanel skirt and blouse was not easy to do gracefully, but no one was watching Cat anyway. They were all focused on Kara. Cat's heel only caught once on the steel exit stairs before stepping gratefully onto solid concrete. Meanwhile, the elevator doors opened in the shaft in the center of the roof, and two more DEO agents jogged out pushing a mobile hospital bed between them.

Feeling like an unnecessary bystander, Cat watched as Kara was carefully transferred from helicopter to bed, Alex giving orders and instructions in a firm, voice, clearly comfortable with being a leader among the other agents. Within minutes they were all jogging to the elevator with their injured superhero in the midst of them all.

Other than the button for the roof, there were only three other buttons inside the elevator; one for the garage, one for the lobby, and one for the penthouse. Of course Cat wouldn't have a penthouse that didn't have a private elevator. The penthouse was only seconds away and then the gleaming golden doors were opening into Cat's tiled entryway.

"Let me go find Johanna first," Cat said, referring to Carter's nanny as she walked purposefully towards the living area which was where the woman usually spent her evenings when Cat was working late. She was a night owl, much like Cat, and never retired to her own room until after all of the late-late-night talk shows were over. Such was the case now, and Cat was able to briefly explain that Kara had been injured in an accident and would be staying with them for the foreseeable future. She told her that she had hired a private medical group to transport the younger woman and get her set up in one of the guest rooms.

Whether the older, Skandinavian woman believed all that or not, she was used to keeping her musings and questions to herself, and so she just expressed her sympathy over Kara's condition - she really did like the girl, as most everyone did - and then gathered her things. Cat called a car for her to bring her back to her own home, where her husband was waiting, and then she rejoined Alex and the others beside the elevator doors.

"She's just getting her things together," Cat told them. "I spun a tale about Kara being in a car crash, but if you people can move quickly, we can avoid any other questions from her."

Alex nodded. 

"Right, let's go," she said, and then Cat led them past the living area which was bathed in the glow of the television. Alex caught sight of matching leather sofas, dark wood tables, floor to ceiling bookcases and gleaming wood floors. They moved down the hall to the bedrooms, and as they passed the kitchen, Alex couldn't help but notice Kara's favorite mug, the one she had given her one Christmas during college, sitting on the island as if waiting for its owner.

Alex could barely suppress an impressed gasp as Cat pushed open a set of French doors and ushered her into a study that was bigger than her own kitchen and living area combined. There was a twin-sized daybed under an oversized window, an enormous wooden desk, and a sitting area complete with loveseat, easy-chairs and bookshelves.

"I had planned for her to go into one of the guest rooms, but with the size of her bed, the double doors here will be easier. We should be able to push my desk into the corner and then her bed will fit right against the wall," Cat said, motioning broadly, finally feeling as if she was doing something useful, something that could actually help Kara.

The desk was made entirely of oak, but luckily the DEO agents who accompanied them were strong and easily capable of moving it to its new location. The nurses pushed Kara's bed inside and locked the wheels in place.

Alex fussed over her sister, checking her pulse, listening to her heart with a stethoscope borrowed from one of the nurses, and peering under her eyelids for any signs of change. By the time she was done with her examination, the bed was arranged and ready. Alex told Cat to stay put and went to escort her agents back to the rooftop.

Cat tried not to roll her eyes at being ordered around, but it was difficult. She had been holding in her more sarcastic and biting reactions for so long, and being back in her home seemed to decrease her ability to do so. Now it was her turn to fuss around Kara, pulling a blanket out of the closet, bustling down to the master bedroom to get her pillow, and talking all the while, in a soft and soothing voice.

When Alex reappeared, she was the first to speak.

"I didn't realize this place would be so huge," she said, a clumsy attempt a conversation.

"Yes, well I wanted the top floor and it only came in one size," Cat answered back with only a touch of sarcasm.

"This definitely feels more homey than the DEO med-wing," Alex said, ignoring, or perhaps too tired to notice, Cat's tone.

It was a big admission, coming from Alex, and Cat took it as such and threw out her own olive branch.

"Yes, well, I know the level of care might not be as good, but hopefully she won't need as much if her powers are on their way back."

They had both migrated to Kara's bedside, and Cat looked down at her pale face with open affection.

"At least she isn't snoring," she joked fondly.

The remark drew an actual laugh from Alex who looked up, almost startled at her own reaction, and then smiling at the other woman who apparently held her sister's heart in a very gentle hand.

"No, that is a relief," she said. "I shared a room with her for years and I swear, I needed a pillow over my head half the time."

"The key is to make her lie on her stomach," Cat shared, and then quieted, feeling somehow that she was saying too much.

Alex recognized the subtle shift in Cat's body language and changed the direction of the conversation.

"I brought all of my stuff in my backpack here," she said, motioning to the bag she'd dropped on the floor when she'd come back from seeing her team off. "If you show me where the bathroom is...?"

Cat straightened, pulling herself from whatever memories were going through her mind.

"Of course," she said, heading out the door and further down the hall. "I assume that you'll be spending the night in her room," she said, and tried not to sound as if she would rather be the one to keep the superhero company through the night.

"How about we trade off?" Alex said, whether because she was feeling particularly tired or particularly generous. "I'll take tonight, and you can stay with her tomorrow."

Cat felt unaccountably relieved and pleased at that suggestion, but she kept her voice a study in neutrality.

"That sounds very fair. I'll leave you to it then," she said, gesturing again, this time at the bathroom interior. "I will see you in the morning."

And with that, she walked on to her own room, trying not to feel as if she was leaving a part of her heart in the room down the hall.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yay! She wakes! And extra long to make up for the wait. ;)

After checking on Carter, and going through her nightly routine with painstaking thoroughness, Cat tried to sleep. She really did try. It wasn't as if Kara stayed there every night, though it had started to happen more nights than not, and it wasn't as if she wasn't used to sleeping alone, because before Kara she had rarely let any romantic partners stay in her bed. But this was very different. Kara was there. She was right down the hall. And having her in the penthouse yet not beside her just felt wrong in a hundred ways she couldn't define.

She tossed and turned on her 1000-thread-count sheets, dislodging the sleepmask that had scared the hell out of Kara the first time she'd crept through the window at 3am after a fire she hadn't gotten to quickly enough. The mask had huge, heavy-lashed eyes embroidered on it, and the younger woman had actually jumped back through the window when Cat had sat up without removing it. Cat never wore it after that, but she had put it on tonight because she thought the total darkness might at least help her get to sleep.

It hadn't worked for more than an hour at a stretch and Cat ended up flinging it to the floor and wishing she'd had a drink - or three. Technically, alcohol didn't actually help insomnia, it just helped people pass out. The sleep probably wouldn't have been any more restful, but at least her mind would have been quieted.

By 4am, between the lack of actual sleep and the stress, she had worked herself into a splitting headache. Usually there was a selection of medications in her bathroom, but Cat didn't even check there, telling herself that she thought she'd finished that bottle, and instead heading to the kitchen. If she happened to pass by the study on her way back, well that was unavoidable, right?

There were curtains hung on the inside of the doors, so she wasn't able to peer inside with the doors closed. Very slowly, Cat opened one of the double doors. There was the softest click as the knob turned, and then the door slid silently open. Bare feet padded across oak boards and then onto the soft area rug that covered most of the floor. Kara was lying in her bed, still as ever, and Cat thought about how unnatural she appeared. She had memories of the younger woman curled in the center of the master bed one night when Cat had been late coming home after an impromptu business dinner. She could almost feel Kara sprawled half on top of her, in a tangle of limbs after one of the rare nights Carter had spent with his father. She could remember waking with the sun streaming through the balcony doors, setting Kara's hair aglow, like a halo spread out on her pillow. Even sleeping, there was something vital about her that seemed missing now as she lay in this unnatural slumber.

Cat released a soft sigh and sat lightly on the bed beside Kara's hip, letting her hand rub a comforting pattern on the blanket covering the younger woman' stomach.

"You would make a terrible secret agent," Alex muttered, and Cat whipped her head around to watch the other Danvers woman slowly blinking her eyes open.

"I didn't mean to wake you," Cat whispered. "I just -- "

"Yeah, I get it," Alex said, cutting her off, because she really did understand.

She pushed herself into a sitting position and swung her legs over the edge of the day bed.

"And don't worry about it. I was barely asleep anyway. What time is it?"

"Going on four-thirty," Cat replied. "You really should try to get some more sleep."

"Yes, and so should you," Alex said pointedly.

Cat merely shrugged and changed the subject, saying, "Carter is supposed to start the overnight portion of his science camp at NCU, so we'll have the penthouse to ourselves. I already emailed my housekeeper and told her not to come until I contact her again."

Alex gave a slight smile. "Sure you can manage without her?"

"I wasn't always the Queen of All Media," Cat said, tossing her a scathing look.

"Point taken," Alex said with a slight inclination of her head. "What's this about a science camp?"

Cat was relieved at the change in the conversation. It was too early to bicker, even for her.

"Yes, well it's something he wanted to do last year but he was uneasy about being around so many strangers. This year, Kara somehow managed to convince him it would be fun."

Cat thought about that conversation, and the surprise and pride she had felt when Carter had announced that he wanted to sign up for the exclusive camp. Kara had been grinning almost as wide as her son when he'd told her. She was glad that Carter would be gone for the rest of the week. Hopefully by the time he returned, his best buddy would be back on her feet and ready for more kite flying, or surfing or Settlers of Catan.

"Well it will definitely be better without a bunch of extra people milling around," Alex said as she stood up and grabbed her stethoscope from the side table, figuring that if she was awake, she might as well do another check-up on her sister.

Cat didn't move away when Alex approached, and the agent didn't ask her to move before checking Kara's vitals and looking under her eyelids once more.

"So, you planning on abandoning all hope of sleep?"

"Yes, seems like I might as well stop torturing myself. I'm about to make coffee if you want some, and then I will wake Carter and get him read to leave. If you wouldn't mind staying in here until he's gone, that would keep me from having to tell him that Kara is here. I'm sure you think I am bad, but I doubt I'd be able to pry him from her side if he knew."

Alex chuckled softly. From the few stories Kara had told her, she had a feeling the the same would have been true for her if circumstances were reversed. She had always had a way with younger children, even shortly after her arrival on Earth. Maybe it was because she always listened to them so attentively, realizing, after her own crash course in "human", how confusing, wonderous, and interesting the world and its people could be to someone who didn't have a decades of life under their belt.

Cat couldn't seem to pull herself away from Kara, fingers leaving lingering touches even as she walked around the foot of the bed. At last she headed to the door, giving one more glance over her shoulder before slipping out.

As promised, she returned with coffee (black, because Kara wasn't the only one who paid attention, and she'd had hours to notice when the two of them were trading barbs over Kara's hospital bed) and then a short while later, the smells of breakfast started wafting under the door. Alex wasn't expecting anything, so she was surprised when Cat stopped by again to deliver a plate of bacon, eggs and toast before continuing down to Carter's room. Alex could hear her knocking and then the soft tone of her voice through the walls. She couldn't make out words, but just the rhythm and cadence of their two voices told of the close connection between mother and son.

Alex shot off a few texts to people at the DEO and arranged to have Dr. Hamilton stop by later in the afternoon. Yes, Alex was the expert in Kryptonian physiology, but if Kara wasn't healed by then she was as much human as alien, with all the medical needs of one as well. It didn't seem as if much time passed, but in fact it was nearly seven-thirty when Cat reappeared in the doorway.

"He's off," she said, sounding somewhat wistful.

Alex wondered if seeing him off to camp was something that Cat and Kara had planned to do together.

"I have the doctor coming over at two o'clock, but until then, it's just the two of us unless we have trouble."

"Kara? Trouble?" Cat said, nearly stunning Alex with the fact that she was actually making a joke.

"Yes, hard to believe she'd ever be a bother," Alex went along with the quips at her sister's expense.

"I've already showered, so I'll sit with Kara if you want to use the bathroom before we take her to the roof."

"It seems like you have thought of everything," Alex said, and if there was a subtle tone of sarcasm there, Cat chose to ignore it.

Half an hour later and the two women were settling Kara's bed into place in the center of the rooftop garden.

It really was a beautiful space; an oasis amid the boring concrete buildings all around. A master stonemason had built raised beds along the perimeter of the garden, and those held the privet hedge which granted privacy - not that any was needed at that height - and more importantly a screen from the outside world. The plain concrete rooftop had been laid with cobblestone bricks which reflected much less of the sun and made the area feel cooler than the rest of the roof. There were free form raised beds holding flowering dogwood trees, now past their blooming stage but heavy-laden with the scarlet seed pods which had formed the center of the blossoms. There lower shrubs beneath the dogwoods, and some shade-loving plants like astilbe and ferns. Further towards the edges of the beds were perennials: coneflowers, fucia-colored phlox, rudbeckia, and ladies' mantle. There were trailing petunias hanging over the edges of the stones along with alyssum and sweet-smelling verbena. Set among the rockwork beds were several sitting areas. One area was covered by a pergola and contained a cushioned sofa and chairs, with wide chunky side and coffee tables. In the sun were expensive looking chaise-lounges, and in the shade of one of the dogwood trees stood a cafe table and twin chairs. 

With the work of moving her sister completed, Alex was able to sit and really take in the surroundings, and she was in turns amazed and saddened. Kara loved flowers since her first day on Earth. There were so few on Krypton and really none out in the natural world, so seeing so many of them had thrilled her. She had tried to remember all of their names and Jeremiah had even started a little flower garden for her at the back of their house. Now, Alex looked around and recognized some of Kara's favorites growing in places of honor throughout the garden. It made her wonder how many hours her sister had spent here all without ever saying a word, without ever revealing any of it to her.

"So has this always been here, or did you build it for Kara?"

Cat, who was seated in the shade of a tree just feet from Kara's bed, looked up from where she had been reading emails on her tablet.

"I had it built when I bought the penthouse, but there have been a few additions this summer," she said, feeling as if she was suddenly treading through a mine-field.

"I just asked because Kara loves gardens, and I guess with your money you can afford to do just about anything to keep her happy to stick around."

Cat stiffened, knowing now that her feeling of unease was justified. She had hoped that she and Alex had reached a truce if not an understanding, but apparently not.

"Yes, well I enjoy gardens as well, and I also wanted someplace peaceful for Carter that didn't involve trekking to the park. I don't need to give Kara anything to make her 'stick around' as you so eloquently put it."

"Yeah, I suppose that controlling her paycheck and her secret identity are plenty of incentive." 

Alex was surprising herself with the words that were coming from her mouth. She and Cat had been cordial with each other since leaving the DEO, and she had no real reason to attack now. Still, the hurt she felt over Kara keeping all this from her was pushing its way forward again, and with Kara still unconscious, the only one left to lash out at was Cat.

"Agent Danvers," Cat replied cooly, "You're obviously feeling angry or irritated with me, apparently because you're once again wondering what kind of hold I have over your sister. I accepted your attacks at the DEO, but I will not put up with them here in my home. I told you already that I had nothing to do with Kara's decision to keep our relationship a secret. You can believe me or not. Hopefully Kara will soon be able to settle the matter once and for all. Until then, you can at least remain civil."

"You realize that I could have a chopper here in twenty minutes to bring Kara right back to the base, right?" Alex threatened, hating the feeling of vulnerability that was creeping over her.

"But you won't do that because it would be foolish and would not help your sister, it would only appease your own bruised ego."

Alex gritted her teeth but held her tongue. Anger and disappointment along with the stress and terror of the past few days were all right below the surface. She was usually so good at holding her emotions inside, but at the moment she felt raw and exposed.

Cat seemed to sense that and relented with a sigh. She knew how Alex was feeling because it had to be similar to how she herself had felt when Kara had finally revealed her secrets to her. Yes, she had already known, but officially being told was different, and it had brought forth a host of uncomfortable feelings, from betrayal to relief.

"Alex, I'm sorry that she never told you. I truly am. Honestly I feel that you and I are a lot alike and I could easily have come to see you as a friend. I would like to hope that there is still a chance of that despite the way all of this has come out."

Sitting in the full-sun, right beside her sister's bed, Alex leaned back and covered her eyes, shielding them from both the sun and Kara's lover.

"I just wish I knew what I did to make her keep this from me," she whispered.

And of course she was silently thinking of Astra and Red Kryptonite and all of the truths buried in the things Kara had said to her then. With Myriad and that horrible, soul-rending "last conversation" they'd had, she had thought they were back to being as close as ever - closer. But still, Kara hadn't trusted her with this.

"I don't think you did anything," Cat said gently, telling herself she was only being nice for Kara's sake, but knowing, down in the part of her that had started awakening when Kara had entered her life, that it was her own better angel's influence. "Honestly, I think it's me she still mistrusts, not you," she continued, admitting something she had tried denying for months. "I think she has expected me to call everything off at a moment's notice. I think she assumed I would get tired of her, or bored, or regret that she's not a wealthy, influential, white man my own age. As if any of those things could possibly happen when I feel like I'm the luckiest woman on the planet," she finished quietly. "I think she didn't want to tell you and then have to take it all back and admit that she was wrong to ever think I loved her," Cat admitted with a small, sad smile.

Alex was stunned by everything Cat had said. The open vulnerability was almost painful to witness, and she blinked a few times in the sunshine, looking at her sister and the older woman, and seeing the love written so plainly on Cat's face.

"I - I don't think she..."

"Pffft, never mind," Cat said, looking away and waving her hand dismissively as she pulled her armor back around herself. "The point is that whatever Kara was thinking, it is all in the open now, and we will both just have to show her that she never should have doubted either one of us."

Alex sat back, feeling in turns impressed and ashamed. If someone had told her that Cat Grant was going to someday prove to be the bigger person between them, she would have laughed in their face, but that was exactly what had just happened.

"My sister is lucky to have you," Alex said after several minutes of silence, and while Cat didn't make any reply other than a surprised widening of her eyes, a feeling of mutual respect passed between them, leaving both feeling better than before.

Throughout the rest of the morning, Cat and Alex took it in turns to sit out in the blazing sun beside Kara's bed. Summer was drawing to a close, but National City never really got cold, and so summertime was just a greater degree of heat. Alex continued to monitor Kara's vitals, noticing that her temperature was remaining steady and she showed no signs of burning or exposure. Her powers were definitely compensating, and that meant they were only getting stronger. Alex knew that if Kara didn't wake within the next day that they would likely need to get her back on IV fluids, but she was hopeful that it wouldn't come to that.

It was noontime, and Cat was back at Kara's side. She had worn only a thin skirt and tank-top, things she normally wore only at the beach, and still she was hot, a thin line of perspiration forming at her hairline. Between the heat and the lack of sleep over the past four days, she was absolutely exhausted. She had been keeping up a line of rather boring conversation, but now she stopped and just laid her head down on the bed beside Kara's hip. She held a limp hand within her own, and she periodically squeezed it, just to let the younger woman know that she was still there. She felt sure that Kara could feel it.

She wasn't expecting to feel that hand squeeze back.

At first she barely noticed, or noticed only in the way someone notices that they are breathing or walking. It felt like such a normal and natural thing; the reaction Cat expected after months of holding that hand through car rides and walks on the beach and conversations in the darkest part of the night.

"Kara?" she whispered, and then again, "Kara, can you hear me? Please, darling, please tell me you can hear me."

She looked over to where Alex was resting under the pergola, but the other woman had fallen asleep and Cat was alone to wonder if she had really felt something or merely imagined it.

"Kara, wake up. You wake up this instant!" she said, using the tone if not the volume that was usually reserved for the office. "You've been asleep long enough, Kara, and you need to wake up right now."

Cat was nearly crying, the burning starting at the back of her eyes, and her throat growing uncomfortably tight. She didn't know what she would do if Kara remained lost to her.

"C-Ca--?"

The half-name was rough and strained and Cat thought it was almost as beautiful as Carter's first newborn wail.

"Yes, darling, I'm here, I'm right here," she said, gripping Kara's hand in both of hers and staring at the woman's face. "Can you open your eyes? Please?"

Slowly, as if weighed down by Morpheus himself, those beautiful eyes opened, looking first straight up into the clear blue sky and then instantly searching for the eyes that matched the voice that had called her back.

"Cat," she said quietly, mouth ending on a sleepy smile.

"Yes, I've been here with you."

"I heard you," Kara said, a look of serenity on her face, "and Alex. Alex?" she said, beginning to sound troubled.

"She's right here too, sweetheart," Cat said, looking over her shoulder just as Alex sat up and then surged to her feet as she realized something was happening.

"Kara?" she called out when she was still five steps away. "Oh my God, Kara, you're awake," she gasped, almost falling to her knees in relief. Instead she sat on the edge of the bed, scooping up her sister's free hand and placing a soft kiss on the knuckles.

"I guess I was asleep for a while?" Kara said, becoming more aware the longer she was awake. 

She smiled that coy-shy smile of hers and was surprised when the two women beside her burst into tears of relief.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shorter than I planned, but I wanted to get something out tonight. Just means more chapters overall. ;). I'm guessing 3-4 more.

It didn't take long for Cat and Alex to begin their race back to stoic hard-ass, each choking back the tears that had surprised them, sniffling and roughly sweeping errant tears aside. Alex won, by a slim margin, probably because she had more practice crying over Kara, and thus more practice pulling herself back together afterwards.

Kara, for her part, just watched them with a mixture of amusement and fascination. Just the fact that these two women she loved were both by her side had a thousand questions pushing forward in her mind, along with a good bit of nervousness. It was obvious that Alex must know something about her relationship with Cat, and then there were the questions about what had happened to her, and how long she had been asleep.

It was while the last sniffles were hidden behind clearing throats and animated hands, that Kara started making a mental check of her physical state. She had been instantly aware of the lack of powers almost as soon as she'd opened her eyes, because she hadn't been able to hear Cat's heartbeat. Now she catalogued each ache and every strange sensation, and as the list grew longer she became ever more concerned.

"Ummm, guys, maybe I didn't sound serious before, but really, how long was I out? I - I don't feel right," she said, voice sounding small though she tried to make it all sound casual.

"Here, here, let me adjust your bed first," Alex said, springing up, eager to be useful.

She grabbed the remote which had been tucked into a slot on the bed's frame, and started pressing buttons to get the head of the bed to raise up so that Kara could actually look at them comfortably instead of craning her neck or staring at the sky.

"Better?" she asked.

"Yes," Kara answered. "I think this is where you two are supposed to start yelling at me for keeping secrets, but could we skip that for now, because I'm starting to get a little scared," she continued, because as full awareness had come back, and the change in position had helped her orient herself, she was noticing more and more things that just didn't feel right.

"What is it, Kara?" Cat leaned forward, grabbing her hand and holding it tight.

"Are you in pain?" Alex was quick to ask. "Nausea? Headache? Dizziness?"

"No, none of that, but my back... It feels... wrong... And everything feels heavy below my hips. What happened? Oh, Rao, my legs are still there, aren't they?" she asked, suddenly panicked and ripping her hand from Cat's grasp so that she could reach down with both and pat at her thighs.

"Shhh... Calm down just a little. It's okay. You're going to be okay, Kara," Alex said soothingly. "The explosion, well, it did a number on you. You've been out for over four days, and pretty much powerless until last night. You broke a lot of bones, Kara," Alex continued gently, stroking one of the blonde's arms. "We were pretty worried," she said, and managed to mostly keep the quiver out of her voice. "You spine was broken, and your spinal cord was damaged."

"That's why my legs feel all heavy and not part of me?" Kara asked, her voice sounding small and childish again.

"Yeah, I think so."

"But it'll get better, right? I mean my powers are coming back right?"

"Kara, please, darling, try to stay calm. Let Alex explain," Cat said, and the dark-haired woman cut a grateful glance to her.

"Okay, okay, it's just pretty hard to stay calm when I can't feel - " she cut herself off as she felt emotions taking over again.

"I know, sweetie," Alex said, again a soothing voice and presence. "Your powers weren't coming back fast enough, and you weren't doing so well," she said, skirting around the specifics, "so we gave you a drug to mimic the adrenal rush that got your powers working again the last time this happened. It worked. I mean your powers definitely came back on-line and helped heal you. They took care of all of the broken bones, and external injuries, and most internal injuries, and I think they're still working, it's just taking longer to fix the more complex stuff. Nerves and ganglia aren't too easy to knit back together, I guess," she finished, trying to joke just a little, but seeing it fall flat in the look in Kara's eyes.

"So that's why we're out here on the roof?" Was all she asked, not ready for any more medical details.

"Yes, well we know the natural sunlight works best, and we were going to set something up at the DEO, but Cat, well, you may have noticed how stubborn she is."

"It's not my fault that being stubborn is so often required," Cat said in mock defensiveness, and Kara was surprised by the fact that here were the two women she had tried to keep apart and they were joking over her and seemingly at ease with one another.

She shook her head slightly, and instantly Cat noticed.

"Headache? Is it the light?"

"No, no, it's nothing," Kara said, waving her off. "Just noticing that the two of you are - well you're not at each other's throats the way I expected," she said honestly, feeling too mentally exhausted to be tactful.

"Oh, there was plenty of that," Cat said dryly.

"Yeah, be happy you slept through that," Alex agreed. "And we're still going to have a long conversation when you are feeling better."

Kara lowered her eyes and said quietly, "And when do we think that will be?" There was a shy hopefulness in her voice that made Alex want to scoop her up and promise everything would be back to normal by the time the sun went down.

Instead she was forced to admit, "We aren't exactly sure. We could treat you again, but it wasn't - "

"You are NOT doing that to her again," Cat said, stranding up straighter than ever, hand tightening around Kara's wrist.

"Cat, at ease," Alex said, tiredly. "I was about to say that I would like to avoid that if we can. Kara, I really think it's just a matter of time and rest and sunshine. You just need to be patient."

"But Alex, I - I don't think I can walk right now," she ended on a whisper.

She had wiggled her toes experimentally and tensed the muscles in her legs, but it all felt as if she was working some strange robotic appendages that didn't really want to respond.

"Kara, you don't need to walk or do anything," Cat jumped in. "I'll take care of you here at the penthouse, we can even work from here if it takes much longer, and of course Alex will be staying until you are back at one-hundred-percent "Supergirl" levels."

"Yes, sweetie, listen to Cat. Just let us take care of you, at least for today. I have Dr. Hamilton coming out in just a couple of hours and she can tell us more. She can do a scan of your back right here and the usual battery of tests for spinal injuries, and then we can go from there. I really think you'll be back on your feet by the weekend. Can you just let us take care of you until then?"

Kara sighed. This forced helplessness was something she hated enough when it was just a loss of powers and a relatively minor injury. This was something so much harder to accept and deal with.

"I can try," she offered. "I guess I should concentrate on being grateful for at least being awake now. I felt like I knew you were both around, or one or the other of you, but you know I don't like sleeping, Alex."

The older Danvers sister nodded.

"I know. That's why I wouldn't let you be alone, even for a minute. There was always someone right there for you."

Kara smiled up at her gratefully.

"You're the best," she said, and it was a simple thing, and could so easily have been taken as an exaggeration, but Alex knew the truth those words held for her sister.

"I wouldn't go that far, but I try," she said, trying to brush it off to avoid any more intense emotions.

"And Cat... I guess we probably need to talk? I mean," she glanced rapidly between Cat and her sister, "you're still willing to - "

"Willing to love you even though you just put me through the ringer, cost me a dozen grey hairs, and subjected me to your bulldog of a sister?"

Kara nodded sheepishly.

"Of course I am," Cat replied soft. "I love you, Kara. This just made me realize how much deeper that feeling went than I was willing to admit before."

With the tender looks passing between the two blondes, Alex felt herself softening into a pile of mush, and forced herself to stand even straighter and put a stern - or at least not heart-eyed - expression back on her face.

"It's actually almost time for Doc to get here, so I'm just gonna go and call over to the DEO and make sure she brings all the equipment she'll need now that you're awake. You can handle things up here, Cat?"

It was an offer of privacy, and Cat accepted it gratefully.

"We'll be just fine, Agent Danvers," she said, and the slight smirk belied the formal designation.

"I'll leave you to it then, Ms Grant," Alex responded in kind before kissing Kara on the forehead. "Don't be a hero. Let her take care of you," she whispered into a delicate ear, and Kara was too shocked to reply.


	10. Chapter 10

Alex was wholly unsurprised when she returned to the roof and found that Cat had managed to curl up on the bed next to Kara, head pillowed on the taller woman's shoulder.

"Aww," she said, with a large dose of overacting.

"Shh, she fell asleep," Kara whispered.

"I thought she was supposed to be taking care of you up here."

"Alex," there was a warning tone but it just made Alex smile.

"Don't worry, I know she's been stretching herself thin since this all happened, and she is does have a couple of decades on you."

"Alex!"

"Sorry," that woman said, sounding slightly apologetic. "I shouldn't have gone there, at least not with her lying right on top of her."

"Damn right," Cat muttered, eyes fluttering open.

She pushed herself up and off the bed and fixed Alex with a signature glare.

"Please don't fight," Kara implored, holding up her hands as if to keep them separated.

"We aren't going to fight, Kara," Cat assured her. "In fact I completely understand where your sister is coming from, and perhaps this is my cue to leave the two of you to talk. I can wait for the doctor downstairs in the lobby so we won't get any uncomfortable questions from the doorman. Not that he'd dare to say anything since I own the whole building now," she said airily.

"Thanks, Cat," Kara said gratefully, though in truth she was a bit uneasy about the conversation she faced.

"Think nothing of it," Cat said, waving carelessly before stilling her hands, arms wrapping around her chest. "Just, don't..." Her eyes were still that 'Cat Grant Confident' but there was something else there and Kara reached for her hand.

"I love you, Cat. We're just talking."

Cat gave an abrupt nod, pulled her hand back and quickly walked to the elevator while Kara watched her go.

Alex watched her too, interested in the entire interaction and, if she admitted it to herself, rather touched by the open affection on display.

With Cat safely out of hearing, Kara turned to her sister.

"So I guess we're doing this now? You know I am still injured, right?"

The little joke was meant to lighten the mood, but it sent a shadow across Alex's face.

"I'm sorry, Kara. We don't have to do this now. Hell, we don't need to do this at all. It's your life and you don't owe me any explanations, and whatever you do is your choice," Alex said, words in a rush to meet the air.

"Take a breath," Kara replied, patting the edge of her bed.

She didn't say anything else until Alex was seated, idly plucking at a loose thread from the thin sheet that covered Kara's mostly naked body, forming just the thinnest sun barrier to preserve some modesty.

"You say I don't owe you any explanation, but c'mon, Alex, you and I know that's not true. This was a pretty huge thing I hid from you. I've never hidden anything from you before. Even when you probably wished I would!"

They were both thinking of the awkward teenage conversations about boys and kissing and various sex-related bases, and it brought small smiles to both of their faces.

"Yeah, but Kara..."

"No buts."

"Kara, I hid half my life from you," Alex said, shaking her head and thinking about how quickly Kara had forgiven her for that, and how this romantic omission of her sister's paled in comparison.

The blonde smiled, because this was suddenly seeming a lot easier than she had expected, but she still needed to explain things to her sister.

"You did that to keep me safe. My reasons for not telling you about Cat weren't quite so altruistic."

Alex cocked her head to one side, eyes taking on a vulnerability they rarely held.

"We're you really so afraid of what I'd say?"

"Part of it was that," she had to be honest. "I didn't think you'd approve. I thought you'd tell me how stupid and careless and reckless I was being letting the Queen of all Media get so close to me."

"I would have had a point," Alex said with a tiny smile, looking at Kara through her eyelashes.

"I know, I know, but I didn't want to argue with you," she said with a sigh. "I didn't want to feel like I had to choose between the two of you."

"Hey, I would not have done that," there was a bit of defensiveness there that faded as Kara stared at her. "Okay, maybe I would have done up a few PowerPoint presentations demonstrating the possible outcomes of a failed relationship with Cat, but I wouldn't have made you choose. I would have just - "

"Just pushed and pushed until I did what you said the way I always did all through school, college and, well, right up until I saved your plane?"

Alex lowered her head, cowed at the truth in Kara's words. She wouldn't have been mean about it. Okay, she wouldn't have been TOO mean, but she would definitely have been persistent.

"And the thing is, you would have been doing all that without really knowing Cat the way I do, and I guess I was afraid you wouldn't give her a fair chance even if I managed to get the two of you to stay in the same room for more than five minutes. Actually, I was pretty sure that would lead to physical injury - and I wasn't sure which one of you would end up needing medical attention."

"Kara!" Alex exclaimed, and then said, with mock offense, "I'm a highly trained agent who took YOU down in the training room."

"You haven't worked for Cat for over two years. She's reduced grown men to tears with five well-placed words," the superhero countered.

"Okay, fine, it's possible there might have been some minimal bloodshed. But I just - "

"I'm really sorry, Alex," Kara cut her off as soon as she saw the heavy emotion moving across her sister's face. "I was scared for me too," she admitted quietly, "but I didn't mean to hurt you, I swear."

"What were you scared of?" Alex asked. "I mean I know I probably wouldn't have started out happy, but you usually end up winning me over in the end, in case you haven't noticed."

"I - I was more scared about Cat," Kara said, finger twining together. "She - she - "

"She loves you, Kara," Alex said, solemnly. "Trust me. There is no way that anything I could possibly have said would have kept her from loving you."

Very carefully, Alex shifted closer until she could wrap her sister up in a hug.

"I'm happy for you, Kara. You deserve someone like her, and I think you're damn good for her too."

"Thank you, Alex."

"Since we're being so honest," Alex continued as she pulled back and took a deep breath, "I guess I should admit that part of the reason I was upset when I found out is that I thought - well I thought maybe you didn't really trust me anymore."

"What? No! Alex, no! Don't ever think that! I trust you with everything. With my life. You're my sister. You have to know that."

"I do. I mean I know that's what we always say, but... Astra... and hell, then I even lied to you about that, and we never really got a chance to talk about everything that happened - "

"You mean every horrible thing I said to you when I was on that Red K," Kara said sounding ashamed.

"Hey, don't do that. It wasn't your fault, and we're talking about all the shit I did wrong, not you," Alex said with a watery smile.

"Please believe me, Alex, I didn't keep it from you because of anything you did or because I don't trust you or anything crazy like that. You are my sister and I love you with my whole heart, the same as I always have."

Alex was forced to wipe her eyes, feeling embarrassed about the feelings she couldn't seem to keep under control.

"Here you are in a hospital bed, and you're comforting me," she said with a humorless little laugh.

"Hey, we take care of each other," Kara insisted, "and I will do that whether I'm confined to a bed or not. After all, I got to sleep through the last four days, but it sounds like you spent the whole time making sure I was going to be okay."

"Comes with the big sister territory," Alex said with a grin, "and I wouldn't trade it for anything."

"That's good, because you're really, really awesome at it."


	11. Chapter 11

A few clouds were threatening to block the sun, and Alex Danvers was about ready to scramble a team of DEO choppers to go up and attempt to dissipate the damn things. She wouldn't do it, but she wanted to. Kara had fallen asleep again just a few minutes after their emotional conversation. She knew that it was a natural sleep and she knew that Kara was getting better, but the fact of the matter was that falling asleep in the middle of the day wasn't actually natural at all for the Kryptonian. She could easily go twenty-four hours without sleep if she had at least some exposure to sunlight, so drifting off, however peacefully, was a reminder that while she was, thankfully, recovering, she still had a way to go before she was back to herself.

The muted sound of the elevator arriving jerked the brunette from her cloud-hating thoughts. She turned in her chair and saw Cat leading Dr. Hamilton through the little garden gate. The doctor was pushing a cart with a portable ultrasound machine on it, and her bag of instruments was in Cat's hands.

"I hear that our patient has woken up," Dr. Hamilton said cheerfully as she approached.

"She has," Alex confirmed, "but she fell asleep again a few minutes ago."

"Well that's perfectly normal. Her body is working hard to repair itself, I'm sure. You know that, Alex," Hamilton chided gently when she noticed Alex's tense expression.

"I know, I know."

"Well I don't," Cat said sharply. "Shouldn't we keep her awake? What if we can't wake her up again?" she asked, sounding strong and snippy but feeling a bit panicky.

"Really, Cat, it's okay," Alex said, "Kara's powers still aren't back, so her body is just reacting more like a human's would. And trust me, if you'd just been through the equivalent of a hit-and-run with a semi, you'd be sleeping too."

Dr. Hamilton reached the side of the bed and carefully pressed fingers to wrist and then neck, feeling Kara's strong pulse beneath the skin.

"That being said, I do need her awake if possible, so, do one of you want to do the honors or should I just start screaming for help?"

The joke only earned a rolled eye from Cat and a heavily sarcastic smirk from Alex, and Dr. Hamilton let out a little chuckle of her own.

"Tough crowd!"

"Could you guys keep it down?" came the murmured request from their own version of sleeping beauty.

"Sorry about that, Supergirl. Your two companions here are awfully serious. I was just trying to inject a little levity."

"As long as you're not injecting anything into me, I'm okay with it," Kara replied, blinking her eyes open as a gentle smile tilted up the corners of her mouth.

Cat and Alex exchanged a smile and Cat started to drag another chair closer to the bed, but the doctor stopped her.

"Actually, it might be best if the two of you went back to the penthouse while I examine Kara."

"What? Why?" Cat demanded, and Alex looked like the same words could have sprung from her own mouth.

"I need to do a battery of tests, and to be honest, they might not all be pleasant."

"Well that sounds more like a reason to stay," Alex stated.

"They won't be pleasant, but they need to be done, and one or both of you might want me to stop if you think Kara is in pain. As well, your reactions could upset Kara more, and I know that none of us want that."

"No, no, I agree with Doc," Kara cut in before an argument could break out. "You guys have already done so much and I don't want you to worry any more. You should go down and make lunch or something. Did either of you eat? Because I'm starving."

"Kara..." Cat said slowly.

"Please?"

And two minutes later Cat and Alex were reluctantly riding the elevator down to the penthouse.

"We shouldn't have left her up there," Cat muttered.

"You heard her," Alex started.

"You're absolutely sure this doctor of yours - "

"Cat, you met her back at the base. You know she's doing her best to help Kara."

"Humph. Then why haven't you unclenched?"

Alex glanced down at her fisted hands and quickly relaxed her fingers.

"Some people have resting bitch face. I have resting fist hands. Means nothing." then Alex glanced at Cat and finished with, "I didn't want to leave either."

The two women were at least happy to be able to do something for Kara, loading up a tray of food for her.

"I notice you have two fridges..." Alex left the question open ended.

"Yes, since about two weeks after Kara started spending time here," Cat answered with a grin that had Alex laughing.

"She really could eat a person out of house and home," Alex said as she added fruit and cheese to the tray which already held two roast-turkey sandwiches, a mound of potato chips and three brownies.

"When I heard about her normal diet of calorie-laden fast and processed food..." Cat let out an exaggerated shudder. "At least when she's here I can manage to slip a salad or two in between the pizzas."

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure her Kryptonian physiology is the only thing keeping her from rickets half the time."

After preparing the food for Kara, the two of them sat down to eat their own lunches. If both of them kept glancing at the clock, neither mentioned it. An interminable half-hour later, Alex's phone pinged and she read the text from the doctor giving them the all clear to head back to the roof.

Cat thought that Kara looked too pale, and Alex recognized the tightness around her eyes that spoke of pain. The older Danvers sister's eyes immediately flashed to Dr. Hamilton.

"The tests went fine," she assured them, "they were just, as I mentioned, not particularly pleasant."

"Are you sure you're all right, Kara?" Cat asked, setting the tray down over her lap.

"I'm fine," Kara insisted, knowing that she wasn't really fooling either of them. "Don't really want to go through it again, but I'm fine. Seriously. And yay, food!" she ended with a wide smile and started to eat.

"So?" Alex asked. "How is she doing? Is she healing? Her powers seem to be coming back slowly."

"Well, there are really two things at work here. Yes, she is healing. Immediately following the incident, she had no reaction below the waist. She now has feeling in her extremities and some voluntary movement."

"But?" Alex pressed.

"But as you said, it's progressing slowly. I believe her powers are working to repair the damage, but because they are doing that, they are being expended as soon as they are recharged. I think she will be on her feet within the next two weeks, but I know that's not as fast as any of us wanted."

"I'm sorry, Kara," Alex said, squeezing her sister's foot through the sheet.

Kara shrugged as she polished off the second sandwich. She had made Dr. Hamilton wait before calling Alex and Cat so that she could get her feelings of disappointment out ahead of time.

"Well then, what is the plan for the next two weeks?" Cat asked. "Should we just continue on as we are? Will we be able to care for her here?" 

That last bit was said with a bit of a tremor. Cat dreaded the idea of Kara returning to the dark confines of the DEO and was certain she would heal better at the penthouse.

"Thankfully, I believe her powers will keep her muscles from atrophying and will eliminate any danger of bed sores or infection. So she won't need physical therapy here, and you won't need to be waking her throughout the night to change her position. The paralysis doesn't affect any of her bodily functions, so as long as the two of you feel capable of helping her move about in a wheel chair, she should be fine here."

Kara had already heard all of this, and she wasn't looking forward to being so helpless, even with Cat and Alex, but it was better than the alternative of the DEO and strangers. She continued to eat, only half listening as the doctor provided more specific care instructions and Alex and Cat asked numerous questions. She was just swallowing the last bite of brownie when Dr. Hamilton finished answering the last question and said that she had a wheelchair in her van and would bring it up to the penthouse and leave it in the entryway. With a friendly little wave from Kara, and solemn handshakes from the others, she took her leave.

"Okay, so now that she's gone, how are you really feeling?" Alex asked the instant she heard the elevator doors shut.

"Really, guys, I'm fine. Okay, so I'm a little sore from some of the tests, but she gave me a shot of pain killer and it's already fading."

"And how do you feel about her prognosis?" Cat asked carefully, full realizing how much Kara hated to be without her powers.

"Not much I can do about it," she replied, "Except..."

"Except what?" Alex was instantly suspicious of that tone.

"Doc told me how you all got my powers to restart and get the healing process underway," Kara said, and already Alex didn't like where this was going, "and I was thinking that if I'm not fully charged by, like, tomorrow, you could just do that again - "

"Absolutely not!" both Cat and Alex exclaimed.

"What? Why not? It worked once, and this time would probably be enough to heal me and leave me with my powers."

"Because you nearly died the first time!" Cat said hotly. "You are not going through that again just to heal faster."

"Agreed. Doc seemed pretty certain that with time, your powers will heal you all on their own," Alex said.

Kara sighed, and nodded slowly.

"I know. I just don't want to wait."

"Of course you don't," Cat said brusquely, "but Alex and I are here to make sure this whole process is as easy as possible, and you are just going to have to be patient."

Kara responded with a sly smile, saying, "I waited pretty patiently for you."


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am undecided about whether to end this in a few chapters with Kara's recovery, or continue on to explore their relationship...

Despite the circumstances that forced them together, the afternoon passed very pleasantly for the three women lounging on the roof of the tallest apartment building in National City. If not for the fact that one of them was lying on a hospital bed, clad in only underwear and a sports bra, they might have been a group of friends gathered for gossip.

Kara couldn't stand remaining idle, so she had made Cat bring up a deck of cards and they had spent time playing hearts and whist until Cat declared those "old people games" and they switched to Oh Hell and then to poker, though three people was technically too few to play. Cat ended up owing Alex approximately fifty-one thousand dollars and Cat muttered under her breath that the woman had the best poker face she'd ever seen. Kara just laughed at the both of them.

And it was so good to hear her laugh, that neither Cat nor Alex minded that it was at their expense.

When the sun started setting, Alex went down to the penthouse and came back with the wheelchair. Kara looked at it with disdain before clumsily shifting her body around in order to move from bed to chair.

"What do you think you're doing?" Cat snapped, causing both Alex and Kara to look up at her with matching looks of surprise.

Cat shook her head and covered her eyes.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to sound - well - like that."

"I think what Cat is trying to say is that you should wait for us to help you," Alex offered. "That's why we're here, after all. The last thing you need is to get reinjured."

"Dr. Hamilton already said that's highly unlikely," Kara argued. "That's why I'm getting this stupid chair instead of being tied to the bed in traction."

This time it was Cat and Alex who shared slightly alarmed looks over Kara's head.

"I know you're feeling frustrated, but it's just for a couple of weeks, Kar. Now c'mon, put your arm around my shoulders and I'll help hoist you over."

Kara tried not to pout like an emo teen while Alex helped her move and Cat held the chair steady. 

"Are you going to let me eat take-out or are you going to insist on something healthy?" Kara grumped.

"You can eat whatever you want," Cat replied. "In fact I pre-ordered Chinese, including multiple orders of potstickers, and it should be arriving in about half an hour. I can cancel it if you'd like something else?"

It was strange to hear Cat sounding tentative, and Kara felt slightly ashamed. She should have felt grateful to be alive and grateful to have Cat and Alex with her, but instead she was dwelling on her damn legs which everyone had already told her would heal with time.

"Chinese is perfect," she said. "I'm sorry, guys. I don't mean to - "

"Shh... None of that," Alex said. "You're allowed to feel however you feel."

"Thanks," Kara said with a sigh, "because right now I'm just feeling frustrated."

"I think some food will help," Cat suggested, "and then maybe a movie and an early bedtime."

"Can it be a Disney movie?"

Cat rolled her eyes playfully and Alex snickered.

"For you, anything."

And the greater implications of that statement, so casually made, made Alex smile behind her hand.

Once inside, there was no more benefit to being so scantily clad, so Cat found an oversized button-down shirt for her to wear. Kara said that she just needed a blanket to cover her legs. Truthfully, she didn't want to attempt putting on pants or even a skirt, and so the throw from the back of the sofa was good enough.

Dinner ended up being cheerful again, with Kara eating everything in sight and snatching every unprotected potsticker in sight. Cat actually smacked the back of Kara's hand with a chopstick when she tried to steal the last one from her plate, causing Alex to break out laughing.

"She once threatened to, and I quote, 'melt my face', if I didn't hand over the last one!"

Cat smirked and delicately plucked the food between her chopsticks.

"Yes, well I think she prefers not to sleep on the sofa here," she said, causing Alex to laugh again while Kara blushed.

As promised, after dinner Kara was transferred to the sofa and then told to chose the movie. She picked Frozen, to loud groans from both of the other women.

"Hey, don't knock it," Kara said, "I like the fact that the sisters save each other, just like us, Alex."

That, naturally, made Alex smile shyly and bump shoulders with the superhero, while Cat observed the two of them fondly and wondered what her life might have been like with a sister by her side. She queued up the movie, dimmed the lights and snuggled up next to her lover.

The penthouse was large and undeniably spoke of wealth, but it was also comfortable and almost cozy despite the space. The doors out to a living room balcony gave a view of the last bit of the sun setting beyond the city. The golden glow filtered into the room before fading to darkness, and as the stars became dimly visible through the city light, the movie played on and Kara drifted to sleep surrounded by two people who loved her.

She had to be shaken awake once the credits started rolling, and some of her earlier grumpiness returned when Alex moved to help her back into her chair.

"I really don't like this," told her. "What are you going to do, follow me into the bathroom too?"

"It's not like you have anything Cat and I haven't already seen," Alex replied.

Kara just humphed in reply and took over propelling herself forward as soon as they reached the hallway. It took her three tries to maneuver through the door into the master bedroom.

"Alex, why don't you get Kara something to sleep in. She has some t-shirts in the top right drawer, and I'll give her a hand in the bathroom," Cat suggested as she followed Kara.

She knew that the sisters were close, but it had been a lot of years since they'd shared a bedroom and she had a feeling Kara would be more comfortable having her help her with more private needs.

Kara had other ideas.

"I think I can manage on my own," she said. 'Really. My arms are just fine, and I'm sure I can lift myself enough to not need help."

"You're probably right," Alex said, "but you haven't practiced. You just woke up today, Kara. How about letting Cat at least be in the room with you in case you need help."

"Fine," Kara agreed with a huff and proceeded to wheel herself into the large and well appointed bathroom, making it through the door on the first try this time.

As it turned out, wiggling out of underwear when her legs felt like lead weights, and lifting herself even over the short arms of the wheelchair was tricky and exhausting. Her long shirt allowed her some modesty, but Cat was the one who remembered to lock the brakes on the chair, and helped her figure out the best places to put her hands to lift and transfer. 

Then, after she was back in the chair, she couldn't bend down far enough to grab her underwear which had slipped off her ankles and onto the floor, and Cat had to help her with it while Kara blushed and pressed her lips together feeling humiliated. Cat tried to remove some of the sting by kissing her gently on the temple just before heading back into the bedroom. Kara released tired sounding sigh and didn't attempt to return the kiss the way she normally would have done.

Alex had found a long soft National City Astros t-shirt and placed it on the bed.

"Great, you're all set," she said when the two blondes entered. "The bed is a little bit high, so why don't you get changed and then I'll give you a hand. I promise, you can do all the work."

"Can I just maybe have a few minutes alone?" Kara asked? "I'm feeling a little bit like a bug under a microscope here," she added, plucking at the blanket which had been put back over her legs.

"Of course you can, Kara," Cat said.

"Sure, Kar. You're still a grown adult. I know maybe we're hovering too much, but it's just because we were so worried and we just want to help you. Take all the time you need and I'll just help Cat in the kitchen."

Kara nodded and Cat and Alex left the room feeling hesitant, but knowing that they couldn't keep babying Kara or she would just resent both of them.

"She's a terrible patient," Alex said as they walked into the living room and gathered up the bowls that had held popcorn.

"Well, it's been less than a day," Cat hedged.

"No, trust me, she's a terrible patient. Every time she's been injured, she's been as stubborn as a bull and has always driven me crazy diving right back into danger the second she got the okay from the DEO doctors."

"I guess it's hard when you spend most of your life being indestructible."

Their conversation was interrupted when a loud crash brought both of them spinning around and Alex only beat Cat to the bedroom by a couple of steps. The source of the sound was immediately evident. Kara was sprawled on the floor next to the bed, and her wheelchair overturned and had crashed against the nightstand, overturning the lamp there which was now on the floor, the crooked shade casting strange shadows on the walls and ceiling.

"Kara, my God, what happened? You were supposed to call when you were ready," Cat exclaimed, worried and scared to see the woman she loved in tears.

"Cat, why don't you let me handle this and you go finish locking up," Alex said, having really no idea what 'locking up' meant in the penthouse but using it as the same catch-all phrase her parents had used when she'd been upset as a child and one of them wanted a moment alone with her.

Cat nodded without saying anything else, and quickly left the room.

"Of course she left," Kara murmured, sniffling and crying, "look at me!"

"What? Kara you're talking crazy. She left because I told her to leave, and I'm looking at you and seeing someone who is trying way too hard way too soon."

Alex righted the wheelchair and lamp and then knelt down beside her sister who was scrubbing tears from her cheeks.

"I hate this, Alex, I really, really hate it. It hasn't even been one whole day and I can't stand feeling this helpless. I'm supposed to be Supergirl, and now I can't even go to the bathroom alone! What kind of hero does that make me?"

"It makes you the kind of hero who just saved this entire city and who now needs a couple of weeks to rest and recover. And possibly the kind of hero who needs her sister to call her mom and get her to come out and talk to you."

"Eliza? No, don't call her," Kara said, sounding small and defeated. 

The last thing she wanted was to have anyone else she cared about seeing her like this.

Alex stroked her hair gently and murmured quietly, "I was only teasing, Kar, but I do think she'd be able to talk some sense into you."

She carefully gripped Kara under her arms and with minimal help from Kara, managed to hoist her up and onto the bed. Then she arranged her legs just-so and covered her up with the sheet before settling next to her on the bed. Kara was still sniffling, and her eyes were downcast.

"Kara, you spent ten years here on Earth suppressing your powers. No Supergirl, no super-anything. And you were still amazing. Just your spirit, your heart, the way you treated everyone around you even when they were little shits in high-school... You were always trying to make yourself blend in, but to me, you shone. You were an example of what a person should be. And do you remember what I said when you first put on the suit? I said that you have always had the heart of a hero, long before you put on the S. That's still true now, and it would be true even if you never regained your powers or the use of your legs."

Kara started to interrupt her, but Alex squeezed her tight to stop her.

"But we know that you will get your powers back, and you will be on your feet before you know it. You just need to be kind to yourself for a change and give yourself permission to be less than perfect."

"But Alex, what about everyone who needs Supergirl right now? I should be out there, helping... Someone!"

Alex shook her head and a wry little smile curved her lips.

"National City managed before Supergirl appeared. The DEO managed before Supergirl appeared. They can manage for a couple of weeks without her now, and you do NOT need to feel guilty about that. Besides, Hank is out there taking care of any serious emergencies - as you - so people still think you're out there saving the day. They don't think you've abandoned them or something."

"Hank in the suit..." Kara said slowly, a smile beginning, "I remember something about him hating the skirt?"

Alex laughed and hugged Kara tighter.

"Yes, I told you that when you were still unconscious. He really does hate that skirt."

"I'll make sure Winn never finds out. He might be offended," Kara said, some of her humor returning.

The two sisters laughed lightly for a moment, and then sat in a silence eventually broken by Alex.

"It's going to be okay, Kara. Trust me?"

"Always."

"Good. I love you, Kar," she said, punctuating her words with a kiss to the top of her head. "Now I'm going to go try to get some sleep, and I will send Cat in, if she isn't already outside the door with an ear pressed against it."

"She wouldn't do that," Kara said, sounding mildly offended before breaking into a grin. "She'd use a glass."

Alex just rolled her eyes and gave Kara one last hug before getting up and leaving the room.

Surprisingly, Cat didn't immediately enter, so either she had actually been in the living room, or she had run like crazy the second she heard Alex say she was leaving the room.

"Everything okay in here?" she asked hesitantly as she stepped inside.

"I'm fine, Cat. Everything's fine. Well, the nightstand might have a ding in one leg..."

"I don't care about the furniture," Cat said with an impatient wave. "I care about you."

"Then maybe you could hurry and get into bed with me?" Kara asked. "I could really use some cuddling."

The soft and almost shy way in which Kara asked almost broke Cat's heart and she rushed through her nightly routine and was sliding between the sheets less than five minutes later. She tapped a button on the wall and the lights in the room all went off in sync. Both women let their eyes adjust to the moonlight and lights of the city that bathed the room in blue-white.

Kara tried to move closer to the middle of the bed, but it was difficult and Cat scooted over quickly and tucked herself under Kara's arm, wrapping her own around her lover's middle.

"I'm sorry," Kara said quietly.

"What on Earth for?" Cat quietly exclaimed.

"Everything? Letting this accident happen, worrying you, being so moody and stubborn..."

"First, it was not an accident! You were saving the whole damn city. You should be getting a medal, but of course no one else will know what you really go through to help all of us," she said, squeezing tighter. "And second, yes, I was scared out of my mind, but that wasn't your fault, and as for being stubborn and moody? I think you're entitled. I know that none of this is easy for you darling."

They were quiet for a few minutes, Cat concentrating on the sound of Kara's strong heart beneath her ear, and Kara relishing the feeling of Cat in her arms.

"I'm sorry this is how Alex found out about us," the younger woman said after a while, not even sure if Cat was still awake.

"Well, it's true that I would have preferred a nice dinner somewhere over the medical wing at the DEO. But I know you had reasons for not wanting to announce anything to her, and I know you didn't intend for things to go this way."

When everything had first happened, Cat had felt a whole host of emotions, including anger that her relationship with Kara was under suspicion, but things had settled down since then. She and Alex weren't exactly friends yet, but they were getting there, and the animosity had all but disappeared.

"I just wasn't ready for hours of conversation where Alex tried to convince me how wrong we are for each other."

Now when Kara thought back on all her fears she thought that there was a good amount of selfishness mixed in with them. Clearly Alex hadn't been entirely thrilled when she'd learned about Cat, but she hadn't refused to acknowledge their relationship. She hadn't kept Cat away from her at the DEO. Kara had a feeling there were some arguments she didn't know about, but apparently they hadn't kept them from joining together to help her.

"And would she have been able to convince you?"

"Not even if it had been the day after our first dinner together out on this very balcony. I should have had more faith that you wouldn't let Alex scare you away. That was my other fear," Kara admitted another fear that now seemed unfounded.

"Not a chance, darling. She can be scary, I'll admit that, but I'm every bit as stubborn, and I had way too much to lose."

"I love you, Cat."

"I love you too, Kara. Please try not to scare me like that again anytime soon."

"I will definitely do my best."

Cat smiled in the dark and silence filled the room again. It was a peaceful silence though, not one filled with unsaid words, and soon both women were sound asleep, lulled by one another's presence.


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for sticking with me. Some major writer's block, followed by the hectic last week of summer for my boys kept me away, but hopefully another chapter or two and this will be complete.

Cat Grant's penthouse was located in a National City landmark building named The Montecito. Being in the city's equivalent of Park Avenue had many advantages, but low traffic wasn't one of them. The building was surrounded by other high-rent buildings as well as some of the most exclusive restaurants and shops in the city. It was prime tourist territory.

Sometimes when people were leading visiting relatives through the streets, one might point up at the building and say that Cat Grant lived up there, CEO of CatCo, billionaire, fashionista, etcetera. They never thought that her life might be anything less than perfect. They never thought of her having custody battles, and hostile takeovers, and stress over her girlfriend's dangerous side job. If they had known that Supergirl frequented that penthouse, they never would have thought of her lying in a bed feeling frustrated and impatient.

When sunlight touched the top of the building on the third morning of Kara's enforced stay, she was already in the garden. She hadn't exactly snuck up in the middle of the night. Well, actually, yes she had. Cat had rolled over fretfully when she had eased herself out of the bed and into her wheelchair. She had been practicing and as with most things she tried, perfection had been easy to attain.

The sun felt good on her skin; warm and healing. She could feel now that she was getting better, stronger, with more feeling in her legs every day. It was still irritating that it wasn't instantaneous. If she didn't know that Alex and Cat would gang up on her, she would call Lucy and ask about the adrenaline therapy.

A soft 'ping' alerted her to the arrival of the elevator and she swiveled around so that she was facing the entrance to the garden.

"I'm not accustomed to having people leave my bed unless I expressly tell them to leave," Cat said as she walked over, hips swaying as if her yoga pants and hoodie combination was a designer suit.

"I left a note," Kara replied guiltily.

"Yes, on your side of the bed, and which I rolled onto and didn't notice until your sister was about thirty seconds from calling out a Blackhawk to search for you."

"Oops?"

"I'd appreciate it if you didn't scare any more years off my life," was punctuated with a soft kiss which took much of the bite out of it.

"Sorry, Cat. I didn't mean to cause a panic."

"I know you're going stir crazy."

"Yeah but I'm sure I'm not the only one. Is this the longest you've ever gone without going into the office?" Kara teased, half-serious.

"I don't even miss it," Cat lied flawlessly. "We're getting plenty of work done here at home."

"Liar!" Kara said, lips tugged into a grin, eyes narrowed.

"It's slightly possible that I'm missing a few things. But you are here, and I would rather miss anything at the office than you."

Kara reached for Cat's hand, quietly pleased at what was a huge admission from the other woman.

"Now, let's get you downstairs for some breakfast. Alex is making pancakes and I'm not sure I trust her around my kitchen."

"I'm the one who nearly burnt it down," Kara jokes, and it sounds almost natural, but her smile doesn't match her words. "Why do you think I practically lived on junk food before we started seeing each other?"

"Because I didn't pay you enough to eat better?"

Kara chuckled, before saying "You know, I know I was the highest paid assistant at CatCo. In fact, I know that you paid me more than James."

"Really?" Cat said, then uttered another shameless lie, "I had no idea. That's all HR, dear."

With another little laugh, Kara started wheeling herself towards the elevator, reluctant to let Cat push her. Cat had to stifle her instinct to help, while inwardly cursing Kara's stubbornness. They arrived back at the penthouse just as Alex was taking the last of a huge number of pancakes off the griddle.

Kara happily devoured the vast majority of them, while Cat and Alex ate more reasonable number. And then it was back to the roof.

So it had gone for two days and so it continued for another two. They were closing in on the one-week mark and Kara was more aggravated every day. Cat and Alex attempted to keep her occupied - bringing her painting supplies to the roof, loading her down with work from the office, but none of it made her forget her current condition for even an instant.

The only positive of their self-enforced confinement was that the relationship between the two people who loved the injured superhero was sliding from adversarial to truly friendly. Which was a particularly large and unfamiliar step for Cat who always held people at arms length and could count her true friends on one hand. Alex had similar self-defensive tendencies, but she was at least friendly with most people she knew and worked with, unlike how Cat. It didn't pay to be a warm and fuzzy boss, especially as a woman, and Cat had always acted accordingly.

They had started off almost competing to take care of Kara, but after one relatively well-deserved dressing-down from that woman, they had each taken a step back and then moved forward again with more respect and less competitiveness. As Kara said, somewhat sadly, there was plenty of help needed to keep the both of them busy. 

The call came into Alex's phone just after lunch on the sixth day. She immediately hurried to the living room and turned on the television. Cat and Kara exchanged a look and rushed after her. The media was treating it as a standard hostage situation, which it was, aside from the fact that the hostage taker was a sword wielding alien mercenary who had worked for Non and was none to happy that his money had run out and his source for additional funds was gone.

Alex was talking in a low voice to whoever had called - most likely Vasquez or J'onn - and was running scenarios and then telling them to hold all movement until she arrived on site.

Kara's eyes were darting between the television and her sister, while Cat stood beside her, trying to keep her calm with a steady hand on her shoulder. When Alex hung up the phone, she had that look of steely resolve that Kara knew extremely well and suddenly hated quite completely.

"Please, Alex, I'm asking you not to go," she said before Alex could even tell her that she needed to go. "Let the others handle it. Just this one time."

Alex shook her head as she moved around the penthouse, jogging to her room and then to the front closet, gathering her things while Kara tried to wheel herself fast enough to follow.

"Kara, you know I can't do that. I'm at the top of the command chain and they need help."

"But I won't be there to back you up. I'm useless here!"

The hero pounded her fists into her thighs, biting the inside of her cheek to keep from tearing up.

"Stop it!" Alex shouted, rushing over and grabbing both of Kara's hands. "Self-flaggelation is not going to make me change my mind. I've gone up against big, bad aliens without you before. Hell, I had to go on a date with Maxwell Lord."

The attempt at levity failed and Kara just stared at her lap, hair falling forward to shield her face from view.

"I just - I can't - I can't stand the thought of just sitting here, watching everything happen and not being able to help!"

"Kara," Cat interjected gently, "how do you think I feel every time you leap off that balcony and into danger."

"But that's different. I'm practically invulnerable."

But the words sounded hollow considering where she was currently sitting. Obviously she wasn't always indestructible.

"And Alex has an entire team of well-trained agents plus J'onn there to make sure that everyone stays safe."

"Listen to Cat," Alex said, "This isn't my first rodeo, Kar."  
Kara straightened up, mask of control an unfamiliar fit over her features. She let out a long breath before admitting defeat.

"Go. You have to go, so just - go."

Alex bent and kissed her sister's forehead.

"I'll be back in time for dinner. Get Cat to order pizza?"

Kara just nodded and Alex had to accept that as good enough. She quickly gathered her things and rushed out the door. The elevator hadn't even reached the first floor before Kara was wheeling herself closer to the television.

"She's going to be fine, Kara," Cat assured her, hoping to God that it wasn't a lie.

"I really, really, hate this," Kara muttered, words she had repeated many times over the past week, but never with so much conviction.

The two women watched as the reports continued to come in, the scene switching from on-the-spot coverage to a couple of talking heads back in the studio. Kara wished they would just keep the damn camera focused on the building so that she could see when Alex pulled up. She didn't end up seeing her arrive, but fifteen minutes later, she spotted a familiar form running to what was clearly the command center closest to the warehouse.

"Does she have to go in first every damn time?" Kara muttered, as the station switched to the lead reporter, 

The unusual swearing caused Cat to raise an eyebrow and say, "Remember, I could say the same thing. Okay, I DO say the same thing."

"Fine, fine, I'm calm. I'm not angry or upset or scared out of my mind over here," Kara pouted.

"Oh, Kara, you're allowed to feel all of those things, you just can let them take over and push you into stopping your sister from doing the job she works damn hard at."

The sigh was quiet, but Cat could make out the slightly exaggerated rise and fall of Kara's chest. She leaned over and placed a kiss on the top of her head.

"So this is how you feel every time?"

"More or less," Cat admitted, moving to take a seat on the sofa. "Usually I just repeat over and over again that you're Supergirl."

The scene on the television switched to a live view again, and Kara's eyes narrowed as she struggled to pick Alex out of the crowd again. She couldn't tell what their plan might be, and then the reporter was back, yammering on.

"They can't keep showing live coverage, darling," Cat soothed. "They don't want whoever is inside to know what's sharpening out there.  
But suddenly, the reporter looked agitated, and the screen flashed back to the scene where the warehouse was now on fire and half-collapsed. Agents were running from the building and then more were running back towards it, seemingly in an attempt to clear whoever else was left inside. A second later an explosion sent more of the building tumbling, waves of dust and rubble spewing outwards to shower everyone in the vicinity.

"Alex!" Kara screamed, because just before that explosion, she had seen her sister run head-long through the main door.

The sound of twisting, screeching metal filled Kara's ears, fists tightening, jaw clenching, eyes searching for a Hank or Alex to reappear on the screen, or for the insipid reporter to give some sort of useful information beyond stating the obvious.

Instead, the next words that she recognized, came from Cat, who was now standing, hand gently encircling one of Kara's wrists.

"Well, welcome back, Supergirl," she whispered, causing Kara to look down and see the mangled arms of her wheelchair clenched within her fists, and her legs, as strong as ever, holding her up and putting her chin level with the top of Cat's head once more.

Her eyes went wide as she just stared, first at herself, and then at Cat and finally at the television.

"Well what are you waiting for? Go save the day," Cat said, with just a hint of amused exasperation.

A moment later, the rush of air through the penthouse followed Kara's speeding form, and she only stopped briefly to kiss Cat full on the lips before running through the balcony doors and taking off into the clear blue sky.


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just one more after this, I think. Comments and/or criticism would be lovely to see. :)

Kara had raced through the penthouse, finding one of her spare suits in Cat's closet, and then rushing back to the living room, only sparing a second to kiss the woman she loved before throwing herself into the air. For the briefest of moments she was unexpectedly terrified. Average human beings could not fling themselves from balconies, and for the past week she had been completely average. In fact, with her injuries, she considered that she had been less than average. The wind rushed through her hair as she dove, heart racing, blood pounding in her ears, and then she was flying, the powers she couldn't quite explain bursting forth.

She strained her ears, struggling to make out Alex's heartbeat from across the city, but it was a futile effort. On a good day, from a closer distance, she could easily have heard it, but she was startlingly out of practice and even as she came within sight of the warehouse, the sirens, shouting, and other noises from the wharf were too much too soon.

It appeared as if half of the warehouse had fallen in on itself. The roof hung at a steep angle, still connected to the undamaged part, but now slanting down to a pile of bent steel, siding, and rubble. Everything in Kara wanted to scream out Alex's name, but she couldn't do that. She was wearing the cape. She had to appear detached, or at least not personally bereft. As she swooped down to land near the largest DEO vehicle, a few people shouted her name, announcing her arrival.

Susan Vasquez was standing near the large communications van, calling to people at the terminals within, and repeatedly tapping on the device in her ear. She was as professional as she had ever been, but Kara could see the worry beneath the stoic demeanor. The furrow between her brows and the set of her shoulders made Kara's heart clench. Did she already know something?

"Agent Vasquez," Kara said as she set down nearby, almost miscalculating her landing in her rush, and sending up a cloud of dust around her feet.

"Supergirl!" Vasquez looked over, shocked to see Kara standing there before her when the last time she'd seen the woman, she'd been unconscious on Cat Grant's rooftop.

"Have you heard from her?" Kara asked without preamble.

"Should you be here? Are you - back?" Vasquez wasn't the type to question, but she felt she had to do so lest both Alex and J'onn kick her ass.

"I'm back," Kara answered, spreading out her arms as if that was obvious. "Have you heard from her?"

It was the most impatient and sharp tone Vasquez had ever heard from the other woman, but she couldn't really blame her. She shook her head and then glanced back into the van.

"We haven't heard from Agent Danvers, but Director J'onzz has been in contact. Agent Danvers is injured," Vasquez admitted reluctantly, knowing that Supergirl would not take it well. "The Director didn't sound overly worried," she continued, trying to give some reassurance.

Hearing that Alex was hurt awakened all of Kara's worst fears, and she didn't care how calm J'onn sounded. Kara knew that the woman before her was trying her best, but she couldn't wait for an official plan of attack. She needed to get in there.

"I'm sorry I snapped," she said, and Vasquez looked more surprised at the apology than the original attitude.

"No need, ma'am."

"How many hostages does he have inside?"

"Only seven, all dock workers. The DEO agents are all trapped within the collapsed part of the building. All of the metal around them seems to be interfering with communications, but from what we've heard, there are no major injuries, they're just trapped. The warehouse has been out of use for a year or so, and it looks like the hostile has been using the place as his own personal headquarters for selling weapons he steals from incoming and outgoing army shipments. The hostages work for the business that owns the place. Apparently they were going to start using it again and wanted to check it out ahead of time."

"Do you know what he is?"

"Says his name's Klor-Tan. We looked him up and he was a prisoner in Fort Rozz, sent there for dealing in stolen arms."

"He's Kryptonian? I thought - " she had thought they were all gone now, floating in space in stasis on the old prison ship.

"Yes ma'am, we thought so too. Apparently he didn't feel like leaving with the rest."

"I'm sure this is where you tell me to wait and that we need a plan, and should wait for Director J'onzz to contact us again," Kara said, eyes already flitting to the warehouse, calculating the best point of entry and trying to scan for her sister.

"Not really, ma'am. With Agent Danvers inside and injured, I pretty much figured you'd just go in there and start punching."

At that, Kara couldn't keep an amused smile from appearing.

"That could count as a plan of sorts, I suppose," she said, and an instant later she was speeding towards the remains of the warehouse.

All she really wanted to do was finish scanning for Alex and J'onn and the other DEO agents, but she couldn't risk it. If Klor-Tan had rigged the place with explosives then there was a chance he would set off more before simply plowing through the ruins to escape, killing any hostages and sending yet more wreckage onto her sister and friends. No, she had to go after him first, and in the few seconds it took her to reach the building, she took note of every part of her body and all of her enhanced senses. It was wonderful to be using her powers, like stretching after a very long day at the office, and with the sun shining down, she felt energized and ready to fight.

A quick x-ray scan later, and she saw him, at the back of the warehouse, in an office, hostages sitting on the floor against the wall. It was like a bad crime drama, and Kara wanted to just speed in and grab him like the common criminal he was. His powers wouldn't make it that easy. She needed to draw him out.

She barreled through one of the remaining solid walls and into the cavernous space inside. To one side was the wreckage, and immediately in front of her, the office with it's window giving her a clear view even without her powers.

"I know who you are!" She shouted, voice echoing loudly. "Come out and make this easy for all of us."

Of course she knew that even if he came out, he wouldn't make it easy, but she had to draw him away from the hostages and hopefully away from the triggers for any more explosives.

"Well Kara Zor-El. I saw you fall from the sky," came his rough, loud voice as he stepped out of the office.

"I'm all better now," Kara quipped, and she moved closer, hands out in a clear invitation to just fight and get things over with.

As she waited for his next move, she stretched out her senses, listening for anyone in the dark pile of fallen beams and concrete. She heard multiple heartbeats, most strong, a few weaker, and then she heard her sister swear, and the tearing of fabric, then J'onn's steady voice urging Alex to just wait and stop moving before she injured herself more.

Kara's fists tightened. She no longer had the patience to wait for a next move.

With blinding speed she surged forward, completely catching him by surprise as she drove her shoulder into his solar plexus. He recovered enough to keep her from plowing him through the wall, but just barely. His feet skidded and slid along the floor, year-old dust swirling around them. Rising to the air, he grabbed for Kara, seeking to hurl her away from him, but it was a move she had seen before and was prepared to counter. 

As his hands gripped her forearm, she twisted and pulled, flinging him over her shoulder and back down to the concrete floor. He gasped for air, but then let out a beam of heat and light from his eyes and Kara flew to the side to avoid it. She was not about to let him drain her powers like that. With an aerobatic spin she landed by his feet, and then fell to her knees above him, punching him in the face with practiced ease. He clearly hadn't been part of Non's army, not really, and he was ill-equipped to deal with the punches of someone with equal or greater power.

"I do NOT have time for this!" Kara shouted between punches, and then with one last brutal hit, he stopped trying to get up and just fell back, knocked unconscious.

Not knowing how long he would be out, she quickly gathered him up, tossing his limp body over her shoulder before speeding outside and over to the waiting DEO agents. She didn't even say anything as she deposited him near Vasquez, gave a nod and sped back inside. They would lock him in Kryptonite restraints, and he was no longer her problem. Now her problem was getting to her sister without bringing any more of the building down.

"J'onn!" She called out, as used her sight to finally find them, huddled in a pocket of space where the ceiling of cracked roofing was just barely supported by a web of crumpled beams.

"All agents are here," J'onn said, not bothering to shout; he knew she would hear him. "The area is unstable but I think we could get out through a small passage to the right if you could come in and help clear it out and make sure it''ll hold."

Kara nodded, looking to where he had indicated, but her senses picked up Alex's rapid heartbeat and she froze, looking back to the rubble cave and picking out her sister's form among the rest. She was hunched over and holding her arm, clearly in pain.

"Alex!" She shouted, needing to hear the familiar voice.

"I'm okay, Kara," came the reply a second later. "Don't rush, just be careful."

It was what the superhero needed to hear, because she had been about half a heartbeat away from just tearing through steel and rock to get to her and carry her out. Instead she took a breath and started a more methodical, though still rapid, rescue operation. Soon she was twisting metal further still, and welding it into place with her heat vision, pulling out piles of rubble and using them to shore up the make-shift walls of her tunnel. Within ten minutes she had reached the group of agents, and was reaching out to take J'onn's hand and help him out.

He wouldn't take it, instead calling for other agents to precede him. He wouldn't leave Alex, and when only he and she remained, he carefully picked her up and carried her out, ducking into the low tunnel, and muttering a half-compliment about Supergirl's construction skills.

"You didn't need to carry me," Alex argued, the second they were out and breathing air that wasn't filled with dust.

"Alex, your arm!" Kara cried out, noting that it was the same one she herself had broken during her horrible encounter with red Kryptonite. "Your head!"

"It's nothing. Scratches," Alex scoffed, even as blood dripped from above her left eye down the side of her face, and squeezed through fingers tightly wrapped around her right arm.

J'onn rolled his eyes and kept his arm around her waist, pretending not to notice how she stumbled and almost fell as they made their way to the medics.

Kara hovered nearby, figuratively if not literally, eyes haunted as she watched Alex's wound being treated.

"She was knocked unconscious for a period of time, and lost a lot of blood in there," J'onn said, and it was Alex's turn to roll her eyes.

She absolutely hated showing any sort of weakness, and more than that, she hated worrying her sister, and right now she knew that Kara was close to panicked, despite the fact that the real trouble was over.

"You'll need stitches for this, Agent Danvers," the medic in charge said, "and we'll want an x-ray as well."

Kara stepped forward then and stared down at Alex's arm.

"It's not broken," she said, and the relief in her voice was clear.

"I could have told you that," Alex told them. "Just do the stitches here. I want to get home."

She looked at Kara then, and her intent was clear. She wanted to get out of there and find out how her sister, who had been in a wheelchair less than an hour ago, was now walking around and fighting aliens.

"Agent Danvers," J'onn said sternly, "you will follow proper medical protocol and return to base for a full examination.

Kara was nodding in agreement and Alex looked from one face to another and released an aggrieved sigh.

"Fine. But Supergirl here is getting one as well. I don't know what happened with you," Alex said, more quietly, "but I need to make sure you're really okay."

"I'll agree to that deal," Kara replied, grateful that Alex wasn't putting up more of a fight, "and I'll even call Cat and tell her to order something greasy for dinner for when we return."


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ahh, here it is, the fluffy ending with just the teensiest bit of angst to start.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading, everyone! This has been a lot of fun to write, and while I don't often reply to comments, please know that I appreciate and treasure every single one.

"If you think for one second that you're leaving me here, then you're out of your tiny little Kryptonian mind."

"Actually, technically Kryptonian brains are slightly larger than human brains," Kara dead panned.

She was sitting beside Alex on a rather uncomfortable bed in med-bay two, her legs swinging casually as if she hadn't felt like her entire life hadn't been suddenly handed back to her with Alex's health and her own legs being handed to her at the same time.

"C'mon Kara, I'm fine. They patched me up, and I do not want to stay here. Hell, if you are worried about me throwing a wrench into any big X-rated celebrations you're thinking of having with Cat, then I'll just catch a cab back to my place from the penthouse. All you have to do is fly me outta here."

"Okay, first of all, Eww! I don't want you thinking about me and Cat in any X-rated situations - or even R-rated! Second, I was already planning to spring you just as soon as Dr. Hamilton tells me you're clear to go."

"Oh. Well then. Hmm. Forget I said anything," Alex said sheepishly, but then she turned her big-sister meter up to ten. "Wait, what has she said about you? Hank told me she was running tests."

"Passed with flying colors," Kara said with a shrug and a tiny smile.

"Are you sure?" Alex asked doubtfully. "No residual pain? Numbness? Any weakness?"

Kara smiled indulgently.

"I'm sure. It was just like the elevator shaft and James. They just came back when I needed them most. A natural shot of adrenaline."

Alex nodded thoughtfully, studying her hands before glancing up almost shyly.

"So they really just all came back when you were watching the news?" Alex said, slightly in awe of the fact that seeing her in jeopardy had triggered Kara's powers.

If Kara's fists tightened to white-knuckle status, Alex didn't mention it, and Kara quickly hid them behind her back before taking a deep breath.

"Well, yeah... When I saw that second explosion they just sort of flooded back. I may - umm - owe the DEO a new wheelchair, by the way. I sort of mangled it accidentally."

"I think we can expense it," Alex joked lightly as she bumped her shoulder against Kara's. "I'm really glad you're fully healed now. Sorry it took such a scare to do it," she finished quietly.

Kara shook her head, hair falling between them to shield her from her sister's gaze.

"Yeah... I... I was pretty much terrified for you," she admitted. "Like, when I heard about your plane on the news, I was scared but when I started running and then flying - I felt like I could do it. I could save you. But when I saw that building fall - I didn't think - and I couldn't - " her voice cracked and she had to stop speaking.

"Hey, it's okay. I'm okay, Kar. Shh..." Alex soothed, rubbing her hand up and down Kara's spine.

"This time," Kara whispered, "but what if my powers hadn't come back? I felt so - "

"Helpless?"

A quick nod of a blonde head was the response.

"Hey, we talked about this..."

A sniffle and then, "No, we said three sentences about it, mostly you and Cat telling me 'now you know how it feels'."

"I'm sorry?" Alex said, feeling suddenly out of her depth.

"No, you were both right. I mean I'm sure you do feel scared for me when I'm off fighting God-knows-what. It's just - " she paused, gathering herself and taking a breath to keep her words from trembling. "Is it really that horrible for you? Because it was almost like watching Kry- "

"Hey! No. Kara, no, no, no. I can only speak for myself, but it's not - well, maybe the first few times were pretty bad, but now - no. Because I trust you. I know you can handle yourself. Plus, half the time I'm right there with you, so that helps. I'll admit that when you flew off into space... That - that was pretty bad - "

"But you saved me that day, Alex. And today, watching from a distance, feeling totally unable to do anything..." she turned quiet for a long minute, but Alex didn't interrupt. "I just wish you never had to feel that way. Not even once."

"Pretty sure that it goes along with loving someone, honey," Alex replied, draping her arm across Kara's shoulders and tugging her close. "You just aren't used to being the one sitting on the sidelines. That definitely sucks sometimes, but you have to know that I will always do everything I can to come back home to you, right? And I know that Cat, and J'onn and James - everyone who loves you - they will always fight to stay with you and they will never, ever blame you if something out of your control keeps that from happening. I know you want to save everyone, especially the people you love, but you have to know that."

"I still don't like it," Kara murmured.

Alex chuckled, low in her throat, and said, "Yeah, I wasn't wild about watching you wear yourself down against the Red Tornado either. Or Vartox. Or Non. Or the Jailer. Or - "

Kara poked her in the ribs with her elbow.

"I get the picture," she said, feeling some of the heaviness lift from her chest.

"Good. Now get Hamilton in here so we can get the heck back to the penthouse. Cat must be going nuts."

"I called her from the air, so she knows we we're both mostly in one piece."

"That's good, because I am not in the mood for a lecture from her, no matter how much you looooove her."

A solid tickle to the midsection was Kara's revenge, and then she sped through the door in a blur, rushing to find the doctor. She has assured herself that Alex was going to be okay, and now she needed to wrap Cat up in a hug. 

As luck would have it, Dr. Hamilton was heading towards the med bays and she was wise enough to know that trying to keep Alex for overnight observation would be a losing battle. Which meant that it was a short fifteen minutes later that the two sisters were flying through the air headed back towards National City. Kara was going slower than usual to protect Alex against any chill despite the fact that Alex insisted that Kara's own body heat expanded out to encompass passengers. Kara wasn't taking any chances. Still, it was only another few minutes and then they were landing on the penthouse balcony, Kara gently setting Alex down on her feet.

"Remember, you promised to go lie down on in the living room," Kara chided like an overprotective mother.

"Yes, I remember. Jeez, am I really as bad as this with you?"

"Worse," Kara said, opening the balcony door and stepping into the penthouse.

She stopped short when she saw Cat there pacing, arms crossed, indecipherable expression on her face. The older woman turned the minute the door opened and the Danvers women appeared.

"Well, it's about time!" she said harshly, causing Alex's eyes to widen and Kara to take just a hesitant step forward.

"I didn't - I thought - " but Kara's stammering was cut off when she suddenly found herself holding an armful of Cat Grant. She shared a puzzled look with her sister, and Alex quickly made her way to the guest room.

Cat held on tighter, head nestled tight beneath Kara's jaw.

"Sorry," she muttered. "I'm still working on the whole worried - to - bitchy transference thing."

"Oh. Ohhhh." Kara said, realizing what Cat meant and holding on tighter. "You know I used to wonder about that," she said quietly.

"Tell no one," Cat replied as she let the built up tension flow from her body while soaking in Kara's warmth and scent and heartbeat.

There was the softest chuckle before Kara said, "Your secret's safe with me."

After another minute of gentle embracing, Cat was ready to part and allow Kara to change into more comfortable clothes. Alex apparently realized that the coast was clear and a few minutes later all three women were sitting in the living room, tea in hand, while they waited for take-out Thai food to arrive.

"So, Agent Danvers - " the arched eyebrow meant for her caused Cat to correct herself, "So, Alex, you don't look too much worse for the wear."

"Nope, sprained elbow, couple of stitches," she replied, motioning to her sling and the square gauze bandage at her right temple.

"Actually," Kara cut in, "Alex has a second degree concussion and I need to bring her right back to the DEO if she experiences any nausea, dizziness, loss of consciousness, or I can't wake her when I check on her during the night."

Alex was rolling her eyes, but Kara continued.

"Um, which reminds me," she said, turning to Cat, "I'll need to stay at her apartment tonight - "

"Don't be ridiculous, Kara. Alex will stay in the guest room. I think we can stand each other for one more night, right?" she replied, looking to the elder sister.

"Definitely," Alex said with a grin.

Kara visibly relaxed and threw her arm around Cat, motioning for Alex to take her place on her other side, under her other arm. She regretted now, waiting so long and never telling Alex about her relationship with Cat. This had been a wake up call that she needed to be more open and trusting with the people she loved. Now she could move forward with both of her favorite people beside her, as well as Winn and James. No more sneaking around. No more missed game nights with friends or hurried dinners with Cat.

Life was going to be that much sweeter with fewer secrets to keep.

Later - but not too much later, because Kara insisted that Alex get into bed by ten - Kara and Cat lay curled together in the middle of the large bed in the master bedroom. The lights were still on, but dim, and Cat was the first to speak.

"Are they really sure you're all right, sweetheart? Are you?"

Kara kept herself from sighing in frustration. She knew that Cat was only concerned for her and she could put up with the repeated questions even if they became tiresome after a while.

"Absolutely, Cat. I really am fine. I know it's weird - paralyzed one minute and standing the next - and I can't really explain how it happens so fast, but it's just my body taking care of itself."

Cat nodded, her hair tickling Kara's chin because she had her head nestled on her lover's chest, right above where the house of El crest often resided.

"Just making sure," she said, realizing that Kara had to be sick of repeating herself and annoyed that she kept needing reassurance, but it was a lot to take in for one day. 

One day in a week of long days.

"I'm just glad I'm healed. I mean, not glad that Alex was hurt or even in danger, but - "

"It was hard waiting for things to start working again," Cat filled in. "I can understand that. You may have noticed that I'm not the most patient of people myself."

Kara let out a quiet giggle.

"No, patience definitely isn't your strong suit."

"Then again," Cat said thoughtfully. "I waited quite a while for you to come to your senses and make the first move."

"Me?!"

"Fine, fine, maybe we came to our senses together."

"Together," Kara agreed. "I like that about us."

They were quiet again, looking out onto the National City skyline.

"You know," Kara whispered, "I can't ever thank you enough for being with me through all of this. We didn't really know how long I was going to take to heal, and you didn't sign up for dealing with me in a wheelchair and barely able to navigate the penthouse."

"As if I would be somewhere else?" Cat questioned sharply. "You think anything that could possibly happen to you would make me run now? If the tables were turned, what would you do?" she continued, just a hair beyond calm. "Darling, I know our relationship is still relatively new, but I hope you know that I will always be there for you when you need me. How many times have you saved me now? And I don't just mean with the cape and superpowers. I love you, dammit, and that is not conditional upon you being able to bench press a tractor."

Her cheeks had turned red with emotion and she let out a sharp breath of air before pushing up and looking into Kara's eyes.

"You believe me, don't you?" she asked, suddenly seeming years younger and far less confident.

Kara raised a hand to cup the side of her face and stroked her thumb along a high cheekbone.

"Of course I believe you. I'm really sorry. That was a stupid thing of me to say."  
"No, no, if you were thinking it, then it deserved to be said," Cat insisted.

"Yes, but I should have thought twice before saying it out loud, because in here," she said, tapping her chest, "In here I know that you will always be there for me when I need you, and I will always be there for you. This isn't a temporary or short-term thing for me, Cat. It's forever. And I think - well I'm pretty sure? That you feel the same."

"I do," Cat said simply, with a slight shrug and tilt of her head. "I can't imagine being anywhere but in your arms," she continued as she eased closer and placed a tender kiss on Kara's lips.

Kara smiled against the kiss, saying, "Then I think we are both right where we belong."


End file.
